JUBA— The Chairperson of Juba Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) Camp 3 has expressed deep concern over a worsening hunger situation, saying it has led to cases of starvation among displaced families.
Chuol Ker disclosed that the camp residents are facing multiple humanitarian challenges, with the most urgent being the lack of food and medical assistance.
According to him, no humanitarian organization is currently providing support, leaving vulnerable populations unable to meet their basic needs.
He further reveals that he has received reports of hunger-related deaths and increasing malnutrition within the camp.
“At the moment, we have the major issue of hunger. “You know, whenever you have not eaten and you happen to be attacked by an infection like malaria or any other disease, the possibility of succumbing is there,” he said.
“And this is the problem we are facing now; our people are dying due to hunger-related issues.”
“Most of the people within the camp are vulnerable, and there is no food coming, and given that you cannot manage to buy food, the same thing happens when you’re sick: you cannot also manage to provide for medical treatment.
“You are sick, and you have nowhere to go, and you have no money? Of course it results in death for many.”
Mr. Ker said he was conducting an assessment on the hunger situation and will release its findings in a week.
Juba IDP camps were established primarily due to the outbreak of civil war in Juba in 2013, which forced tens of thousands of civilians to seek refuge within the UN’s Protection of Civilians (PoC) sites, initially at the UN House in Juba.
These sites were not initially designed as long-term camps but rather as temporary shelters offering protection from the conflict. Over time, as the conflict persisted and the number of displaced individuals grew, these PoC sites were transitioned into formal IDP camps under the government’s responsibility.
US foreign aid cuts, particularly those affecting the World Food Programme (WFP), have severely impacted food assistance in South Sudan, exacerbating an already dire humanitarian crisis.
Funding shortfalls are forcing WFP to reduce rations and potentially cut assistance to millions of people facing severe hunger, including the IDPs at Juba camps.
