iStock/Thinkstock(UNITY STATE, South Sudan) — Parts of South Sudan are experiencing a famine as the United Nations says some 100,000 people are facing starvation, according to a BBC News report. The famine affects part of Unity State in the northern region of the country. It marks the first time in six years a famine has been announced in any part of the world.
BBC News reports a combination of civil war and economic collapse are to blame. Humanitarian groups warn the crisis could spread if they do not receive help in the affected areas of South Sudan.
The UN World Food Programme (WFP) and Unicef report 4.9 million people are in urgent need of food. That marks over 40% of South Sudan’s population.
BBC News adds that Joyce Luma, who heads the WFP in South Sudan, says the famine was “man-made” with crop production stifled while conflict grew across the country. When South Sudan fought for independence from Sudan in 1998, it also experienced famine from civil war. South Sudan gained independence from Sudan in 2011.
Yemen, Somalia, and north-eastern Nigeria have been warned of the possibility of facing a famine, but South Sudan is the first to declare.
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