Hundreds of children and teenage girls risk starvation, sexual exploitation and violence as a result of looming famine in parts of South Sudan especially Pibor County in Jonglei State.

Plan International has warned in its January 18 statement that children and young girls may fall victims of food scarcity if no remedial action will be taken. The organisation has identified Pibor County, Jonglei State, as the area where the most vulnerable people are found.

 The area has been hit by famine and the South Sudan Integrated Phase Classification (IPC) Famine Review Committee mapped in as part of the areas that require closer intervention attention. According to Plan International, 1,455 children from Pibor were admitted to the hospital and diagnosed with nutritional issues. That was in December 2020 alone.

Director of Programmes for Plan International South Sudan Richard Orengo has called on the well-wishers and the government to move swiftly and manage the situation before it escalates into unmanageable situation. Part of snag is that teenage girls are seen as susceptible to sexual exploitation which may happen during their pursuit for food.

He said: “Families in Pibor have not yet recovered from the catastrophic flooding last year and the coronavirus pandemic has caused food prices to soar. As in all crises, girls face the biggest dangers. We know, for example, that searching for food and firewood places girls at risk of violence, rape, and other dangers.

“We are calling upon the Government of South Sudan and the international community to move with speed to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe in Pibor and its surrounding communities. With the rainy season just weeks away, time is of the essence.”

The body said flooding in the area had made food distribution cumbersome but encouraged the stakeholders to heed to the call and chip in with aids.