from RAJI BASHIR in Khartoum, Sudan
Sudan Bureau
KHARTOUM, (CAJ News) – AT least 25 million people are struggling with escalating rates of hunger and malnutrition as the conflict in Sudan sends shockwaves around the region.
Thousands of families are being displaced and forced into neighbouring countries each week.
“The impact of this conflict spans three countries – Sudan, South Sudan, and Chad – and has created the world’s largest displacement crisis,” said Michael Dunford, World Food Programmes Director for Eastern Africa.
“Almost a year into the war and we’re seeing no signs that the number of families fleeing across borders will slow. The children and women who are crossing to South Sudan or Chad are hungry and arriving with no resources.”
Dunford was speaking from the South Sudanese border town of Renk, where around 500 000 of those fleeing the war had arrived.
There are 18 million acutely food insecure people within the country and around 3,8 million Sudanese children under five years old are malnourished.
Most are trapped in areas of active fighting where aid agencies are struggling to maintain consistent access.
Those escaping are fleeing to places like South Sudan or Chad, adding to already dire humanitarian situations in both countries.
Statistics by WFP indicate that approximately 4 percent of children under five years of age crossing the border into South Sudan are malnourished on arrival.
This figure rises to 25 percent among children in the transit centre in Renk.
In Chad, more than 553 000 Sudanese, mainly from Darfur, have fled since the conflict broke out last April.
WFP is facing an almost US$300 million funding gap for the next six months.
– CAJ News