South Sudan is facing a catastrophic humanitarian crisis driven by nearly four years of a brutal civil war.

Right now 6 million people – around half the population – are facing extreme hunger, and over 60 percent of the population is in need of humanitarian assistance.

Civilians have been attacked, and schools and hospitals have been looted and burned. Tens of thousands of people have been killed. The fighting has forced nearly 4 million people – one in three – from their homes. As they flee, people lose their possessions, crops and income, and often get stranded in places where there aren't enough facilities to support the tens of thousands of new arrivals. Most of them are women and children, who are particularly vulnerable to the risks that come with finding aid and services away from their communities.

Earlier this year, 100,000 people were facing famine in South Sudan, and one million more were on the brink. Since then Oxfam and other humanitarian organisations have raced to respond. Aid has made a really important difference – we have helped prevent famine from spreading. But despite this, there are more people facing severe hunger in South Sudan now than ever before.

Delivering humanitarian aid in South Sudan

In 2016 Oxfam helped more than 600,000 people across South Sudan and we continue to provide emergency food distribution, access to clean water and hygiene kits to prevent the spread of diseases like cholera. We are providing vouchers for canoes so that people who have sought refuge on islands in the swamps of South Sudan can get the help they need, and supporting the most vulnerable people to produce food for themselves and develop ways to make a living, for example, by providing livestock, training, tools and seeds.