Children are waiting to receive food aid in Pierri village, South Sudan (Photo: AFP/ VNA)

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said inter-communal violence, an economic crisis, and climate-related shocks threaten at least 79,000 people with catastrophic levels of hunger.

Since the war in Sudan began in April of last year, at least 670,000 people have fled to South Sudan.

OCHA said this year's humanitarian effort in South Sudan is severely underfunded. Just 11 percent of the 1.8 billion dollars needed has been received so far.