“Wars are hard to stop, famines are not” (Michael Bowers, Mercy Corps).

On Tuesday 13th February 2018, Sudan’s government opened a border point for trade with South Sudan for the first time since Southern Independence in 2011. This is a step in the right direction for improving the economic concerns for both African nations. This negotiated border point will open up trade between Sudan’s White Nile state and South Sudan’s Upper Nile region, according to Sudan’s trade minister Hatem Elsin.

The two countries have declared plans for allowing trade crossings on numerous occasions, but that had only ever been for the conveyance of humanitarian aid to South Sudan. However, this has been thwarted by years of civil war between the two countries. This is a war that has become silent yet debilitating for South Sudan and has affected the food systems and food production for the South Sudanese. The new trading point would allow for those most vulnerable and trapped in the middle to begin to rebuild their livelihoods.

When Sudan’s government army began scouring South Sudan’s territory of any anticipated foe in 2016, it gave rise to one of the world’s fastest-growing refugee crisis. This civil war has submerged small areas of this fledgling nation into high levels of food insecurity. According to the Food and Security Analysis released in November of 2017 by the UN states, there are an estimated 1.25 million people in South Sudan that are already on the verge of starvation. Yasmin Sooka, chairperson and one of only three members of the UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan, had remarked that the unquestioning process of ethnic cleansing in several areas of South Sudan has lead to starvation and villages being destroyed. Many caught up in this conflict have reached a point of no return.

The once prosperous country has the pristine outward appearance of intact, uncorrupted hilly terrains, along with an abundance of fertile lands to produce food on. However, it is now scattered with blackened, burnt out vehicles, deserted homes, ransacked businesses, and army barracks that are central bases for patrolling government soldiers. But, the human dilemma faced is that, even though the towns are under government control, the encompassing hills are possessed by rebel forces, so this leaves vulnerable people trapped in the middle. Food security in itself has added more pressure and risks that could see the conflict intensify once more.  Donatella Rovera, Amnesty International’s senior crisis response adviser, has stated that “the actions of men on both sides of the political and sectarian divide have used food as a weapon of war.”

This new border opening for trade will begin to address the immediate crisis faced in South Sudan. While food assistance is a good beginning, there can now be a follow up with communities that can start to rebuild their food systems. Restoring food production through the distribution of trades, such as fertiliser and high-quality seeds, is an important goal to attain. Whilst there is still the danger of relapsing into conflict and the loss of these rebuilt structures, it is still an important hope for South Sudan in helping the affected population to rebuild their lives.