The UN World Food Programme or WFP said a dozen reported deaths in Greater Kapoeta of Eastern Equatoria State were not “necessarily” related to hunger.
The head of WFP Vulnerability Analysis and Mapping Unit, Andrew Odero, told the press on Monday that WFP conducted an inter-agency assessment in February and it found out that some people died from causes not related to famine.He said after the first alert there were no further deaths reported in the community.
Mr Odero said some people became sick, but died because they lost appetite and became weak.
He explained that they found many people in Greater Kapoeta that were using the stress mechanisms to get food including collecting firewood to make money to go to the market.
Mr Odero revealed that the WFP assessment mission found that the food security situation was deteriorating and all agencies should “fast track” their programmes to contain the situation.
There were reports that a dozen people died of hunger in Greater Kapoeta due to food shortages in February.