South Sudan aid agencies are appealing for more funding to avert a humanitarian catastrophe in the country.

NGO Forum, an umbrella for local aid organisations in South Sudan, have warned that the humanitarian crisis was deepening, putting about 7 million people at risk of starvation.

“The economic crisis is driving high rates of food insecurity and malnutrition,” NGO Forum said in a statement issued on Wednesday.

The statement says the absence of humanitarian assistance, during the lean season months of May and July 2018, would expose an estimated 7.1 million people, or 63 per cent of the population, to severe food insecurity.

“The rates of food insecurity have remained high and the long-term impact of the conflict and an economic crisis are engulfing the previously malnourished,” the statement reads.

It says further that the humanitarian response to the famine declared in Southern Leich State in 2017 had helped to prevent its spread and worsening food insecurity, adding that more similar actions were needed before it was too late.

“If the current drivers of food insecurity persist and worsen through the end of 2018, there is a heightened risk of famine in areas where large populations are already experiencing severe food insecurity,” it says.

NGO Forum also urged donors to continue assisting those most affected by the crisis across the country, adding that the most vulnerable were women, children and the elderly.

“Please, support our effort to save lives and alleviate human suffering in the world’s youngest nation. We also call on all parties to the conflict to end the fighting and support the peace talks,” it says.

The South Sudan NGO Forum comprises 300 local organisations.