Amid the 13-month-old war between the Sudan Armed forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, United Nations aid agencies have warned that women and children are at risk of malnutrition, disease, and death.
According to U.N Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the World Food Program (WFP), and the World Health Organization (WHO), malnutrition is exacerbated by restricted access to essential resources such as nutritious food, safe drinking water, proper sanitation, and an elevated susceptibility to illnesses.
Approximately 9 million Sudanese individuals have been forced from their residences, with challenges such as insecurity and extensive bureaucracy hindering aid organizations in providing crucial supplies to those in need.
“Mothers and children across Sudan are wasting away from malnutrition. The ongoing war has stripped them of everything they need to survive – food, medical support, and shelter.
“We need immediate and safe access to deliver the humanitarian assistance that they so desperately need.
“Without it, this crisis risks becoming the world’s largest hunger emergency,” said WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain in a statement this week.
The malnutrition crisis is particularly concerning among pregnant and breastfeeding mothers, as Doctors Without Borders (MSF), reveal that over 33% of pregnant and breastfeeding women in the ZamZam camp are malnourished.
This is because they are likely to feed their children instead of themselves, which poses danger to the mother and the baby.
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