United Nations, Jan 11
An estimated 3.2 million children under 5 are projected to suffer from acute malnutrition this year in war-torn and famine-afflicted Sudan, a UN spokesman said.
"Of these children, over 700,000 will likely suffer from severe acute malnutrition," said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, at a regular briefing, adding that the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) is sounding the alarm, news agency reported.
Dujarric said Sudan is the site of the world's largest child displacement crisis, with 5 million children homeless because of the hostilities. Most children leave their homes with only the clothes on their backs, and their mothers often walk for days, sometimes up to 20 days, to reach a camp, looking for safety, food and basic shelter.
"And as the conflict rages on, families and communities trapped in the middle of it and in hard-to-reach areas are continuing to bear the brunt of the violence and the suffering," he said. "The lack of access to sufficient food and basic services in these hard-to-reach areas inside Sudan is likely to swell and the risk of destitution and death increases."
Dujarric said that UNICEF, working with humanitarian partners, continues to do its utmost to deliver safe and clean water and integrated health and nutrition services, including immunization, treatment of childhood illnesses and whatever possible to manage acute childhood malnutrition.