IMF, S. Sudan Reach Staff-level Agreement worth $112.7 Mln

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Tuesday that it had reached an staff-level agreement with South Sudan on emergency financing worth $112.7 million.

"This emergency financing will help South Sudan address food insecurity, support social spending and boost foreign exchange reserves," the International Monetary Fund said in a statement.

The fund said its executive board would approve the funding in the coming weeks.

In early November, UN agencies said that up to 7.8 million people in South Sudan, two-thirds of the population, could face severe food shortages during the April-July lean season next year due to floods, drought and conflict.

On Tuesday, the IMF estimated the number of people suffering from severe food insecurity at about 8.3 million.

"The combined factors of the ongoing local conflict, four consecutive years of severe flooding, and high commodity prices due to the Russian-Ukrainian have increased the number of food insecurity severely," It said.

Civil war broke out in South Sudan shortly after secession from Sudan in 2011, and despite the peace agreement signed four years ago largely in effect, the transitional government has been slow to unite the various military factions.