This archive report was first published on 10 June 2020.
Published on June 10, 2020, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has resumed direct deliveries of emergency food aid to South Sudan through the Kenyan border point of Nadapal.
For the first time since 2018, a nine-truck convoy carrying 280 tons of food has been sent directly into South Sudan via the Nadapal border crossing, enough to feed 20,000 people for a month.
The convoy, which was loaded in Kenya's port city of Mombasa, took three days to reach Kapoeta, located east of the capital Juba.
WFP had previously delivered millions of tons of relief food through the route before a suspension linked to the poor road network and insecurity.
"Our backs are against the wall and time is of the essence," said Matthew Hollingworth, WFP country director in South Sudan.
More than 6.5 million people, about half of South Sudan's population, are expected to face food insecurity in the near future, with the Covid-19 pandemic, desert locust invasions, and renewed violence in parts of the country worsening hunger.