The effects of US foreign aid reductions are already being felt in South Sudan, with children reportedly dying due to a lack of food and medical supplies, according to the humanitarian organisation Action Against Hunger.
Despite gaining independence in 2011 and possessing significant oil resources, South Sudan remains mired in poverty and instability, heavily reliant on international support.
The country is one of several suffering the consequences of a dramatic decrease in funding from the US Agency for International Development (USAID), which previously accounted for over 40 per cent of global humanitarian assistance. The cuts stem from a decision made under the administration of US President Donald Trump.
A recent analysis published in the British medical journal The Lancet estimates that the reduction in USAID funding could result in more than 14 million deaths by the end of the decade, including over 4.5 million children under five.
Denish Ogen Rwot, who leads communications and advocacy for Action Against Hunger in South Sudan, told AFP the situation is already dire. “This is not a future risk—it’s happening now. We are already recording child deaths,” he said.
Operating across conflict-affected regions such as Jonglei State, the NGO provides life-saving food assistance and essential supplies. Rwot said the organisation has lost around 30 per cent of its funding as a result of the aid cuts.
Following a visit to Warrap State in the north, near the war-torn Sudanese border, Rwot described warehouses as “virtually empty,” even though vulnerable people are still being registered for aid.
His warning comes just one day after the World Food Programme reported emergency-level malnutrition among refugee children entering South Sudan to escape the ongoing conflict in Sudan.
Due to the funding crisis, Action Against Hunger has had to scale down operations drastically, cutting its workforce from 300 staff to just 86 in South Sudan.
