Last week President Obama drew much-needed attention to the unending and escalating violence in South Sudan. Conflict that broke out in December of 2013 has yet to stop, forcing millions from their homes, and there is no clear end in sight.

Action Against Hunger has been in what is now South Sudan for over twenty-five years, responding to high undernutrition rates, lack of access to clean water, and chronic food insecurity. Our presence in South Sudan today is more important than ever. A staggering 40 per cent of the population–that’s 4.6 million people–are now at risk of severe food shortages, and one million people are living in a state of emergency one step below famine.

Even before the onset of the recent conflict, the rates of undernutrition (GAM, or global acute malnutrition) were well above the emergency threshold and have only deteriorated further in the states of Northern Bahr el Ghazal (NBeG) and Warrap. At present, GAM rates in NBeG exceed 23%, far above the WHO emergency threshold of 15%. Concretely, what this means is that Action Against Hunger has seen an alarming increase in the number of children under the age of five seeking life saving treatment in our nutrition centers in the last year. In 2014, our teams treated over 10,000 children in Aweil East and Aweil Center counties of Northern Bahr el Ghazal, whereas in just the first half of 2015 alone, we have already admitted over 9,000 children.

As we enter the peak of the lean season, we have recorded a worrying 30% increase in the number of admissions to our programs in NBeG from May to June, with 1,827 wasted children admitted for treatment. The situation is similar in nearby Gorgrial West county of Warrap state, where  the admission rate increased by 26% from May to June, and a nutrition survey from two months ago found a global acute malnutrition rate of 29.1%--the highest recorded rate since we began surveys in this area in 2008.

In spite of concrete medical data demonstrating a significant decline in nutritional status--in fact, the highest rates of undernutrition in the country--nutrition implementing partners in these two states struggle to obtain adequate funds and face shortages of critical nutrition supplies. Thanks to the support received from the U.S. government, Action Against Hunger has been able to maintain our stocks of lifesaving supplies, but as undernutrition and admission rates continue to climb, much more support from the international community will be urgently required.

The needs of South Sudanese people, who are experiencing conflict on a daily basis, are dire. Humanitarian operations in conflict areas must continue to be supported and scaled up, however we cannot forget the populations throughout all of South Sudan, including NBeG and Warrap, at this key moment.