IFPRI 2020 Conference on Building Resilience for Food and Nutrition

SecurityAddis Ababa, Ethiopia, 14-17 May, 2014

Lessons Learnt from South Sudan in Building Resilience

Banak Joshua Dei WalMinistry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, Republic of South Sudan, Juba

IntroductionSouth Sudan gained independence in2011 with approximately 8.5 million people

Main livelihoods activities include: agriculture, livestock keeping and fishing

Urban areas heavily depend on external food supply from the neighboring countries e.g. Uganda, Sudan, Ethiopia and Kenya

98% income is drawn from oil export

Risk and vulnerability analysis in South Sudan

More than 4 in 5 HHs are able to meet essential & non-food needs without engaging in typical, unsustainable strategies to access food and income including any reliance on humanitarian assistance

Even with any humanitarian assistance at least one in five HHs have minimal adequate food consumption but unable to afford some essential non-food expenditures without engaging in irreversible coping strategies

Risk and vulnerability analysis cont’

The same group mentioned above has food consumption gaps with high or usual acute malnutrition or are marginally able to meet minimum food needs only with accelerated depletion of livelihoods assets that lead to food consumption gaps

Seven (7) million are at risk of food insecurity

3.7 million people are in acute need of food

Factors Influencing Food Security in South Sudan

Political instability

Drop in oil production & tax collection

Displaced population

Natural disasters e.g. flood in 2013

Rain fall variability

Severe capacity deficit and weak monitoring policies

Key Interventions to Improve Food Security & Community Resilience

End to re-current political instability

Establish viable and sustainable economic reforms

Enhance diversify agricultural production

Strengthen community coping strategies

Improve linkages between production areas & consumption centres e.g. livestock marketing

Conclusion Key policies required to encourage investments &

innovation to build sustainable livelihoods

South Sudan economy is heavily dependent on oil export – there is need to diversify income generation approaches prioritization of agriculture

With almost all agricultural production being rainfall, monitoring rainfall variability becomes imperative

Capacity building & enhancement of community coping mechanism

Conclusion cont’ The current crisis has shaped future food insecurity

risks being anticipated as displaced communities have no access to farming even with any humanitarian assistance, still there will be food consumption gaps resulting in high acute malnutrition, increased mortality and extreme loss of livelihood assets

What happens today shapes future famine risks (2015)

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