ALBAWABA - According to the UK-based NGO Save The Children, nearly 230,000 pregnant women, new mothers and children are facing death from hunger if no immediate action is taken to save them from the deteriorating situation in Sudan.
According to new figures released by the Nutrition Cluster in Sudan, a partnership of organizations including the UN, Federal Ministry of Health, and NGOs including Save the Children, over 2.9 million children in Sudan are acutely malnourished, with an additional 729,000 children under the age of five suffering from severe acute malnutrition.
Save The Children Country Director, Arif Noor, said: "The nutrition situation – the ability for children and other vulnerable groups to get the food they need in order to grow and survive - in Sudan is one of the worst in the world. The cycle of hunger is getting worse and worse with no end in sight – only more misery".
Out of these children, 109,000 are likely to suffer from dehydration, hypothermia, and hypoglycemia in the upcoming months due to severe malnutrition, and will be in need of intensive care at specialized hospitals.
Cluster said that these numbers are based on the current funding levels for the emergency feeding program in Sudan, which at the moment only covers 5.5% of the total needs in the country.
If their needs are unmet, more than 220,000 children and 7,000 mothers will likely die in the coming months. Additionally, 1.2 million pregnant and breastfeeding women will suffer from malnutrition this year and face severe health complications during and after delivery.
According to the Save Th Children report, pregnant women were seen skipping meals just to allow their children to eat the meals they have available, restricting themselves from the nutrients they need to grow the fetuses they're carrying creating grave concerns for the health of these babies when born.
"We are seeing massive hunger, suffering and death. And yet the world looks away. The international community must come together to act and prevent more lives being lost. History will remember this inaction" Arif Noor stated.
According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), About 25 million people, of whom over 14 million are children, need humanitarian assistance and support. That is every second person in Sudan needing assistance to meet their basic needs.
