General
UN Declares Famine in Parts of South Sudan
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
War and a collapsing economy have left some 100,000 people facing starvation in parts of South Sudan where famine was declared today, three UN agencies warned. A further 1 million people are classified as being on the brink of famine.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Food Programme (WFP) also warned that urgent action is needed to prevent more people from dying of hunger.
If sustained and adequate assistance is delivered urgently, the hunger situation can be improved in the coming months and further suffering mitigated.
The total number of food insecure people is expected to rise to 5.5 million at the height of the lean season in July if nothing is done to curb the severity and spread of the food crisis.
According to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) update released today by the government, the three agencies and other humanitarian partners, 4.9 million people – more than 40 percent of South Sudan’s population – are in need of urgent food, agriculture and nutrition assistance.
Unimpeded humanitarian access to everyone facing famine, or at risk of famine, is urgently needed to reverse the escalating catastrophe, the UN agencies urged. Further spread of famine can only be prevented if humanitarian assistance is scaled up and reaches the most vulnerable.
Famine is currently affecting parts of Unity State in the northern-central part of the country. A formal famine declaration means people have already started dying of hunger. The situation is the worst hunger catastrophe since fighting erupted more than three years ago.
“Famine has become a tragic reality in parts of South Sudan and our worst fears have been realised. Many families have exhausted every means they have to survive,” said FAO Representative in South Sudan Serge Tissot. “The people are predominantly farmers and war has disrupted agriculture. They’ve lost their livestock, even their farming tools. For months there has been a total reliance on whatever plants they can find and fish they can catch.”
Malnutrition is a major public health emergency, exacerbated by the widespread fighting, displacement, poor access to health services and low coverage of sanitation facilities. The IPC report estimates that 14 of the 23 assessed counties have global acute malnutrition (GAM) at or above the emergency threshold of 15 percent, with some areas as high as 42 percent.
“More than one million children are currently estimated to be acutely malnourished across South Sudan; over a quarter of a million children are already severely malnourished. If we do not reach these children with urgent aid many of them will die,” said Jeremy Hopkins, UNICEF Representative a.i in South Sudan. “We urge all parties to allow humanitarian organizations unrestricted access to the affected populations, so we can assist the most vulnerable and prevent yet another humanitarian catastrophe.”
“This famine is man-made. WFP and the entire humanitarian community have been trying with all our might to avoid this catastrophe, mounting a humanitarian response of a scale that quite frankly would have seemed impossible three years ago. But we have also warned that there is only so much that humanitarian assistance can achieve in the absence of meaningful peace and security, both for relief workers and the crisis-affected people they serve,” said WFP Country Director Joyce Luma. “We will continue doing everything we possibly can to hold off and reverse the spread of famine.”
Across the country, three years of conflict have severely undermined crop production and rural livelihoods. The upsurge in violence since July 2016 has further devastated food production, including in previously stable areas. Soaring inflation – up to 800 percent year-on-year – and market failure have also hit areas that traditionally rely on markets to meet food needs. Urban populations are also struggling to cope with massive price rises on basic food items.
FAO, UNICEF and WFP, with other partners, have conducted massive relief operations since the conflict began, and intensified those efforts throughout 2016 to mitigate the worst effects of the humanitarian crisis. In Northern Bahr El Ghazal state, among others, the IPC assessment team found that humanitarian relief had lessened the risk of famine there.
FAO has provided emergency livelihood kits to more than 2.3 million people to help them fish or plant vegetables. FAO has also vaccinated more than 6 million livestock such as goats and sheep to prevent further loss.
WFP continues to scale up its support in South Sudan as humanitarian needs increase, and plans to provide food and nutrition assistance to 4.1 million people through the hunger season in South Sudan this year. This includes lifesaving emergency food, cash and nutrition assistance for people displaced and affected by conflict, as well as community-based recovery or resilience programs and school meals.
In 2016, WFP reached a record 4 million people in South Sudan with food assistance — including cash assistance amounting to US$13.8 million, and more than 265,000 metric tons of food and nutrition supplies. It is the largest number of people assisted by WFP in South Sudan since independence, despite problems resulting from the challenging context.
UNICEF aims to treat 207,000 children for severe acute malnutrition in 2017. Working with over 40 partners and in close collaboration with WFP, UNICEF is supporting 620 outpatient therapeutic programme sites and about 50 inpatient therapeutic sites across the country to provide children with urgently needed treatment. Through a rapid response mechanism carried out jointly with WFP, UNICEF continues to reach communities in the most remote locations. These rapid response missions treat thousands of children for malnutrition as well as provide them with immunization services, safe water and sanitation which also prevents recurring malnutrition.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria’s electricity distribution companies (DisCos) generated N196.13 billion in revenue in March 2026, despite billing customers a total of N246.43 billion during the month, according to the latest commercial performance report released by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).
The figure represents a slight decline from the N196.68 billion collected in February, highlighting persistent challenges in revenue recovery across the power distribution segment, even as energy supplied to the grid continued to improve.
NERC’s March 2026 fact sheet showed that electricity billing rose by 1.71 per cent from N242.29 billion recorded in February, reflecting increased energy deliveries and customer charges. However, collection efficiency declined to 79.59 per cent from 81.17 per cent in the previous month, indicating that a significant portion of billed revenue remained uncollected.
The regulator disclosed that DisCos received 293.76 million kilowatt-hours of electricity during the review period, representing a 6.02 per cent increase compared to February. The development suggests a modest improvement in power availability across the distribution network.
Despite the increase in energy supplied, revenue recovery remains uneven across the industry. NERC reported that the average approved tariff for March stood at N124.30 per kilowatt-hour, while actual collections averaged ₦100.75 per kilowatt-hour, resulting in an overall revenue recovery efficiency of 81.05 per cent.
Among the eleven DisCos, Ikeja Electric emerged as the strongest performer, posting a revenue recovery efficiency of 99.30 per cent. Eko Electricity Distribution Company followed with 95.73 per cent, while Benin DisCo recorded 85.18 per cent.
At the lower end of the performance table, Kaduna Electric recorded the weakest recovery rate at 35.65 per cent. Jos DisCo and Yola DisCo also struggled, achieving recovery efficiencies of 53.53 per cent and 58.58 per cent, respectively.
Ikeja Electric also led in collection efficiency with 96.38 per cent, ahead of Benin DisCo at 90.97 per cent and Eko DisCo at 87.68 per cent. Kaduna, Jos and Yola remained the poorest performers in this category, underlining the persistent commercial and operational challenges facing power distributors in parts of northern Nigeria.
In terms of billing efficiency, Eko DisCo ranked first with 92.30 per cent, followed by Port Harcourt DisCo at 90.36 per cent and Ikeja Electric at 87.76 per cent. Yola DisCo recorded the lowest billing efficiency at 58.68 per cent.
The latest figures underscore the mixed realities within Nigeria’s power sector. While electricity supply and customer billing continue to improve, revenue collection remains a major obstacle to the financial sustainability of the industry.
Analysts note that stronger metering penetration, improved customer confidence, reduction in energy theft and more efficient collection systems will be critical if DisCos are to close the widening gap between electricity supplied, billed revenue and actual collections.
The March performance report comes as regulators and industry stakeholders intensify efforts to strengthen the commercial viability of the electricity market, attract fresh investment and improve service delivery across the country.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Interswitch has entered into a partnership with Geneva-headquartered banking software provider Temenos to offer managed banking services to financial institutions across the continent, deepening its push into banking technology.
The partnership will see Interswitch adopt Temenos’ banking technology across core banking, digital banking, payments, wealth management, and financial crime management.
This will enable the firm to provide cloud-hosted and on-premises managed services to lenders on the continent. The service will initially target Nigeria, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, and other African markets.
“This is a pivotal moment for Interswitch as we accelerate our expansion beyond payments and reimagine digital banking for Africa,” Mr Jonah Adams, managing director for Digital Infrastructure and Managed Services at Interswitch, said in a statement.
By combining Temenos’ software with its existing footprint across the continent, Interswitch is positioning itself as a technology partner that can help banks upgrade critical systems without having to manage the complexity of large-scale technology deployments.
“By adopting Temenos’ cloud-native, composable platform, Interswitch gains the flexibility and scalability to accelerate its next phase of growth and deliver banking services that meet the needs of African markets,” Mr Adams added.
For Temenos, the deal strengthens its presence in Africa through a partner with deep relationships across the banking sector. It lost one of its banking customers, Sterling Bank, in 2024 after the tier-2 Nigerian bank switched to SEABaaS, a new custom-built core banking application.
“Interswitch is an important new customer and partner for Temenos in Africa,” said Mr William Moroney, Chief Revenue Officer at Temenos. “Interswitch’s strong presence across the continent also extends our reach and further strengthens our ecosystem and partner network.”
Founded in 2002, Interswitch built its reputation as one of Africa’s largest payments companies through products such as Quickteller and Verve, its domestic card scheme.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Tropical General Investments (TGI) Group and Singapore-based Wilmar International have agreed to combine their Nigeria and Republic of Benin operations into a 50:50 joint venture aimed at building a dominant integrated food and agribusiness platform across West Africa, targeting a market estimated at $12 billion.
The proposed merger will consolidate operations across several value chains, including agriculture, oil palm plantations, edible oils, edible nuts, rice, food manufacturing, and distribution, creating one of the region’s largest end-to-end food production and supply chains.
Under the arrangement, both firms will integrate their complementary strengths, with Wilmar contributing global expertise in palm oil, speciality fats, and large-scale agribusiness operations, while TGI brings established local manufacturing capacity, consumer brands, and an extensive distribution network across Nigeria and neighbouring markets.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Wilmar International, Mr Kuok Hong, said the partnership would enhance both firms’ ability to serve Africa’s expanding consumer base, describing Nigeria and Benin as strategic growth markets.
“For more than four decades, TGI Group has built a leading position in Nigerian food manufacturing and distribution. This partnership will leverage Wilmar’s global scale and expertise as well as TGI’s local knowledge to deliver innovative food solutions across Africa,” added TGI Group founder and chairman, Mr Cornelis Vink.
On his part, Vice Chairman of TGI Group, Mr Farouk Gumel, said the deal reflects confidence in Nigeria’s long-term economic prospects, adding that it would deepen domestic value addition, strengthen food security, support smallholder farmers, and create jobs.
Adding his input, Wilmar’s Africa Head, Mr Santosh Pillai, described the transaction as a strategic fit, noting that the combined entity would have the scale, local insight, and operational depth needed to better serve consumers in the region.
The companies said the transaction is expected to be completed in the 2026 financial year, subject to regulatory approvals and other customary conditions.
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