In 2024, South Sudan faced escalating hunger and malnutrition driven by economic instability, conflict, widespread flooding, and an influx of refugees and returnees. According to the 2024 Global Hunger Index, South Sudan is experiencing alarming levels of hunger.

From September to November 2024, 6.3 million people (47 per cent of the population analysed) were classified as being in Crisis (IPC Phase 3) or worse, with 1.71 million in Emergency (IPC Phase 4) and 41,000 people in Catastrophe (IPC Phase 5). Flooding affected over 1.4 million people, devastating crops and displacing communities, while more than 1 million people fled into South Sudan from Sudan, placing severe pressure on already limited resources.

Action Against Hunger provided lifesaving and resilience-building support in Warrap, Northern Bahr el Ghazal, Jonglei, and Central Equatoria. Our programmes focused on Nutrition and Health, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), and Food Security and Livelihoods, reaching over 650,000 vulnerable people. Gender and protection considerations were integrated across all activities to ensure inclusive assistance.

Key initiatives included the deployment of the Multi-Sector Emergency Team and Surveillance and Evaluation Team (METSET) to five locations, delivering rapid assistance to flood-affected populations and displaced refugees and returnees. Our programmes mitigated acute malnutrition, waterborne diseases, and food insecurity, while supporting community resilience through long-term recovery efforts.

Action Against Hunger strengthened advocacy efforts in 2024, working with lawmakers and civil society organisations to secure increased budget allocations for Health and Nutrition and WASH sectors. A major achievement was the finalisation of South Sudan’s first National Nutrition Policy, promoting a multisectoral approach to address malnutrition comprehensively. Additionally, our Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, and Learning (MEAL) and Research teams contributed critical data to national food security assessments, shaping evidence-based humanitarian response.