JUBA — A surge in acute malnutrition has put 2.3 million children under five at risk of hunger in South Sudan, Save the Children warned on Friday.
The new Integrated Phase Classification (IPC) data released on Friday in Juba shows the number of children facing the most extreme level of hunger has doubled in just over six months.
According to IPC, a global authority on the severity of hunger crises, 57 percent of the population is now living in crisis levels of acute hunger or worse, up from 47 percent.
This is driven by conflict, climate change, poverty, and recent foreign aid cuts, according to the new report.
The report stated that the number of acutely malnourished children had increased from 2.1 million to 2.3 million within months, marking a 10.5 percent rise and representing an additional 218,000 children.
Out of 80 counties surveyed, about 62—or 78 percent—showed a general deterioration in acute malnutrition levels.
The lack of food, inadequate medical supplies, and outbreaks of diseases such as cholera had contributed to the worsening conditions, according to a report from the global authority on the severity of hunger crises.
Christopher Nyamandi, Save the Children Country Director in South Sudan, said the situation was life-shattering for children.
“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,” said Nyamandi.
He warned that without proper nutrition, they faced stunting, impaired physical and mental development, and a greater risk of deadly diseases.
“These latest figures are a cry to donors: please, see what happens to children when you let humanitarian crises take hold,” he said.
“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 programs 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 programs 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.
