The World Food Programme (WFP) and UNHCR have warned that more than 650,000 refugees sheltering in South Sudan (a landlocked East African nation that gained independence in 2011) face severe reductions in humanitarian assistance due to a critical shortfall in donor funding. The two UN agencies said that cuts could mean smaller food rations and reduced nutrition support for children and mothers, at a time when up to 3,000 refugees and returnees are arriving weekly from neighbouring Sudan, many of them already undernourished. WFP estimates it requires $37 million immediately to close the current gap, and a further $258 million to sustain operations through the end of 2026.