Nearly eight million people in South Sudan are at risk of acute hunger as conflict and displacement worsen an already dire humanitarian crisis, according to a United Nations report.

Published on Tuesday, the report warns that 7.8 million people in the West African country will suffer high levels of food insecurity in the coming months — equivalent to 56 percent of the population.

The Food and Agriculture Organization, World Food Programme and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) have called on the international community to take immediate action to prevent what they described as an “irreversible humanitarian catastrophe”.

The report states that the number of children aged between six months and five years old who are suffering from acute malnutrition has risen by 100,000 over the past six months, to a total 2.2 million. It estimates that 700,000 children are at grave risk of dying.