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By Godfrey Olukya 5-2-2013
At least 12 people have been reported to have died of hunger in South Sudan. The deaths occurred during last two weeks in Eastern Equatoria State, one of the ten states that make up South Sudan.
According to the state governor Louis Lobong Lojore, those who died were residents of the Greater Kapoeta area.
Lojore said, ‘Severe hunger has been reported in Kapoeta area and some people have been confirmed to have died due to hunger. We are trying to help the starving people in that area to get relief food.’
One of the reasons why people in that area are starving is because most of the produce from the last harvest in the state were destroyed by worms.
The scarcity of food in that area has been heightened by the stopping of neighboring countries, including Uganda and Kenya from exporting food to the state. The neighboring countries did that to improve on their food security.
Although the natives have domestic animals, they can not sell them off due to lack of market.
‘There is no market for cows and goat. They are becoming very cheap to the point that a goat cannot afford to buy a bag of sorghums. said a local leader.
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