Radio Miraya
2852: WFP: The latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) results show that 57% of the population will be acutely food insecure through the 2025 lean season.
Oh yeah, it's a very good morning, 26 minutes at the top of the hour. Well, you're listening to the Miraya breakfast show. And this is where the nation's biggest conversations begin every morning. My name is Irene LaSou. Now the latest integrated food security phase classification has been released. The results show that 57% of the population will be acutely food insecure through the 2025 lien season. Now to help us discuss the IPC results and the food security situation in the country, we are now joined by Mary Ellen Magrouti, the country director and representative for the United Nations World Food Program WFP in South Sudan. Good morning, Ellen. Welcome to the show. Good morning. How are you? I'm well. Thank you. Now yesterday you joined the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security Honorable Josephine Lago in releasing the IPC results. Just briefly explained to our listeners what IPC is and why is it important? Yeah, the IPC, the integrated phase classification is a multi-partner initiative. We conducted with in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, our colleagues at FAO at UNICEF and a large number of NGOs. And basically what it is, it's an annual assessment that looks at the severity and the magnitude of food insecurity and malnutrition across the country. So for example, this year we surveyed over 8,600 households across the country. So it's present in all the states across the country. What it does, it's an important exercise because it's important to policymakers, humanitarian organizations and the government in order to be able to respond to the humanitarian situation, but also to look at where critical investments are required to be able to address food insecurity and malnutrition. Right, and how do you get to these figures? How do you get to determine the severity of the issue? Well, what they do is, I mean, it starts when you have the food security and nutrition monitoring its assessment, which sort of is household and goes to a whole set of criteria around food availability, food consumption, incomes and nutrition. And that's all brought together in a huge data analysis exercise, which takes, I think, it's about two weeks with over 100 trained data analysts involved in the exercise and putting that together with a range of other different criteria and factors that they build up the IPC. Right, so which parts of the country are greatly affected? Yeah, but what we're seeing this year, I mean, the numbers again this year are staggering, protected for the lean season, which is the time when food households are really, you know, the harvest is gone and, you know, they have limited to each onion. So we're looking at, as you said, of over 57% of the population in the lean season, the malnutrition situation has sadly also deteriorated. Where we're seeing is, you know, we're seeing in places around unity, gungling or the bark is out, you know, one of the big impacts that we have seen this year is the high fruit prices and the impact of the war in Sudan. You know, one of the most hardest hit populations are those people that are seeing the war in Sudan and moving back to the communities of the Chinese. There are also, we've also seen where, you know, there have been outbreaks of violence as well, that displacement and that destruction of assets is also driving food and nutrition. Right, and what needs to be done, since you've mentioned some of the key drivers being the war in Sudan and also in security in most parts of the area, and I'm sure the floods are also exacerbating the situation. So what needs to be done urgently to save the situation? Yeah, you asked today, you know, you have the flood, you have economic crisis, the protracted humanitarian crisis. What needs to be, I mean, we need that, you know, that the continued humanitarian response and areas that are hard to pick, you know, where you've over 50% of the population highly couldn't be cured. But also there's many opportunities in areas as well, you know, and that was, that was so good to hear the Minister, her own above Minister yesterday, outlining some of the investments in agriculture as well, because there are parts of the country, and many parts of the country where there is opportunity, where you have stability, where you can, you know, drive off the agriculture production. I mean, there's huge potential in South Sudan for agriculture production. On the nutrition side, we do need that multi-sector response. It's not just, I mean, some of the malnutrition, it's not just about access to food. It's also about water, sanitation, and health. So that multi-sector approach as well. Right. Now, how is WFP preparing to respond? Because as we see, I mean, it needs are increasing. Yeah, I mean, what we will be doing now, based on the data that's come out, we will be prioritizing our response in the areas at a hardest hit, you know, going in with the fullest, you know, food assistance and nutrition. But we are also working with UNICEF as well around, you know, rolling out, you know, broader nutrition prevention, which we all know prevention is better than cured. But also, we want to continue. We have some very exciting programs around resilience that are looking at climate adaptation. We want to continue with those programs and also programs around, you know, working with smallholder farmers to have them selling food to WFP. We need a farmer that a number of years ago were waiting on WFP trucks to bring them food assistance. And today now we're buying from those farmers. So it's really a two-track approach, you know, where we need the fully fledged humanitarian assistance to push on with us, but also to work on what the, you know, the Ministry of Agriculture and other ministries, another agency to really build in resilience, roll out social protection, and really unlock the potential. And I see that. Right, Meliana, thank you so much for making our time to speak to us. Yes, what are your final remarks or your final word? Yeah, I mean, I think it's, you know, we are committed to the Minnesota Food Program, you know, I mean, again, to be able to make sure that we can pull people back from the brink. But it really is those investments in the longer term that are required, you know, investments in agriculture, social protection, and resilience to be able to unlock the potential in South Sudan and to be able to come up this peak of humanitarian needs. And of course, also the situation next door in Sudan, you know, you know, peace is really one of the key, key requirements to be able to address food and security. Right, Ellen, thank you so much for your time. All right, and Mary Ellen, rather, Margotie is a country director and representative for the United Nations World Food Program here in South Sudan, bringing us a speed on this very development where numbers are staggering, about 57% of the population will be acutely food and secure through the 2025 season.