A deadly mix of conflict, climate change and poverty have pushed 2.3 million children aged under 5 in South Sudan into life threatening acute malnutrition, with rates soaring just months after foreign governments announced the slashing of funds to the world’s poorest countries, Save the Children said.
Latest figures from the Integrated Phase Classification (IPC) – the leading global authority on the severity of hunger crises – show that in just over six months, the number of people living in the worst phase of acute hunger (IPC Phase 5) in South Sudan has doubled [1], and the percentage of the population living in crisis levels of acute hunger (IPC Phase 3 and above) has shot up from 47% to 57% – an increase of 21% [2].
A lack of food, insufficient medical supplies in health facilities and major disease outbreaks including cholera, the number of acutely malnourished children under the age of five across South Sudan has increased from 2.1 million to 2.3 million – a 10.5% increase, representing an additional 218,000 malnourished children.
Of the 80 counties in which data was collected, 62 – 78% recorded a general deterioration in acute malnutrition, according to the IPC.
Children are always the most vulnerable in food crises and, without enough to eat and the right nutritional balance, they are at high risk of becoming acutely malnourished, said Save the Children.
Malnutrition can cause stunting, impede mental and physical development, and increase the risk of contracting deadly diseases.
All this comes as foreign aid cuts have brought lifesaving programmes across South Sudan – one of the world’s most aid-dependent countries – to a standstill.
Chris Nyamandi, Save the Children Country Director in South Sudan, said:
“When there is a lack of food, children’s bodies become a battleground. The impacts of malnutrition – stunting, impeded mental and physical development, and increased risk of contracting deadly diseases – can be life-shattering.
“These latest figures are a cry to donors: please, see what happens to children when you let humanitarian crises take hold. Please, don’t leave the children of South Sudan behind. This is about survival for today – but it is also about hope for tomorrow, to build a better world.”
Globally, one in five deaths among children aged under 5 are attributed to severe acute malnutrition, making it one of the top threats to child survival. Community-based programmes combining medical treatment and therapeutic foods, including a fortified peanut paste, have a 90% success rate.
Earlier this year, Save the Children reported that at least 110,000 [3] severely acutely malnourished children supported by the aid agency in 10 countries, including South Sudan, could be left without access to life-saving ready-to-use emergency food and nutrition programmes as aid cuts hit supplies in coming months.
The charity also reported that at least five children with cholera in South Sudan had died on an arduous journey to seek medical treatment, after aid cuts forced their local health services to close in the middle of a major outbreak of the deadly disease.
Save the Children has worked in South Sudan since 1991, when it was part of Sudan. The child rights organisation provides children with access to education, healthcare and nutritional support, and families with food security and livelihoods assistance.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Save the Children.
