蜜芽传媒

One of the most alarming consequences of the war between Ukraine and Russia is the prospect of sharply rising food prices. Ukraine and Russia together export about a quarter of the world's wheat, a staple of the global food chain. This week, the head of the World Bank warned prices could soar by 37% this year. Food prices were already under pressure from the global Covid pandemic.

South Sudan is one of the world's poorest countries, plagued by civil war and natural disasters since it gained independence just over a decade ago.聽 Matthew Hollingworth is South Sudan country director for the World Food Programme, based in Juba. He explains how poorer countries like South Sudan are more vulnerable to food price hikes and that around 7.74 million people in the country are facing "severe levels of hunger" where many will have to survive on one meal a day and others even less. While the situation may mean the WFP making difficult choices on who to prioritise, "Taking from the hungry to feed the starving," Hollingworth says it could also destabilise the country.

Picture: A women in South Sudan carries bags of sorghum distributed by the United Nations World Food Programme in 2021. Credit: Simon Wohlfahrt / Getty Images