Both natural and man-made causes generate the present food shortage South Sudan is experiencing.
China stepped in to offer help in the form of 1,700 metric tons of rice, according to Xinhua.
Ma Qiang, the ambassador to South Sudan, said that the rice donation was part of an agreement made between China and South Sudan in July 2015 and serves as the country’s initial form of assistance, reported Xinhua.
The ambassador attended the program for the donation in Jaba, the country’s capital, on April 6.
Awut Deng Achuil, South Sudan's Humanitarian Affairs Minister, said that China’s help will “surely save life and alleviate the suffering” of her government and countrymen.
“China will not be forgotten by the people of South Sudan,” said Minister Awut.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Food Program, the prices of cereal in South Sudan have increased “nearly five-fold since early last year, making it increasingly difficult for people to get enough to eat,” reported U.N. News Center.
U.N. agencies said that “civil strife and unfavorable rains” contribute to the low crop production.
The agencies added that almost half of South Sudan’s population--some 5.8 million people--is struggling where to get their next meal.
FOA and WFP said that for this year, South Sudan’s cereal production dropped by 53 percent, reported Voice of America.
Ma also said that China will follow up its rice donation with a medical support to be coursed through the Relief and Rehabilitation Commission, a Sudanese government agency, reported Xinhua.
Those in need of medical assistance in South Sudan find little to no help. Its hospitals lack medicines because of the ongoing conflict in the country, according to Albawaba News.
The Chinese government deployed 1,031 soldiers to South Sudan in Dec. 2015. They came to support the U.N. peacekeeping operations in the war-battered northeastern African country, reported BBC News.