Famine again a threat in South Sudan, new report says

Ross Smith with the U.N’s World Food Program tells The Associated Press that “these are unprecedented levels of food insecurity” for the East African nation.

In this April 5, 2017 photo, Abuk Garang holding her 7-month-old son William Deng sits against a tree as she and others walk to a food distribution site in Malualkuel in the Northern Bahr el Ghazal region of South Sudan.

One year after South Sudan briefly declared a famine, more than half of the people in the world’s youngest nation face extreme hunger amid civil war.

A new report by the United Nations and South Sudan’s government says more than six million people are at threat without aid, up about 40 % from a year ago.

An estimated 150,000 people in 11 counties could slip into famine this year.

Ross Smith with the U.N’s World Food Program tells The Associated Press that “these are unprecedented levels of food insecurity” for the East African nation.

The U.N. says one in three people in South Sudan have been forced from their homes by the conflict, resulting in the worst production of the country’s staple grains since the fighting began in late 2013.