By Ngor Deng Matem
At least 38 children under the age of one have died from malnutrition in Northern Bahr el Ghazal State over the past two months, according to health authorities.
Luka Lual Aleu Jok, the state’s health focal point officer, reported that between April and May 2024, 152 malnourished children were admitted to the Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) clinic located within the Aweil State Hospital. Tragically, 38 of these young patients did not survive.
“These numbers were recorded at MSF facility within the Aweil State Hospital. I appeal to everyone to protect the children from malnutrition. Mothers have to breastfeed babies exclusively with breast milk from zero to six months old,” Lual explained.
Local authorities are now urging humanitarian agencies to immediately respond with nutritional supplies to rescue the situation.
Last month the United Nations Children’s Agency (UNICEF) said about nine million people, including 4.9 million children, 2.2 million women, and 1.4 million individuals with disabilities are in dire need of humanitarian assistance.
According to UNICEF multiple compounding factors are driving the crisis, including ongoing conflict, insecurity, disease outbreaks, protracted flooding, heatwaves, and the destabilizing impact of the conflict in neighboring Sudan on South Sudan’s economy.
These spilling crises are rapidly exacerbating vulnerabilities, especially among children.
“In 2024, more than 60 per cent of the population is expected to be acutely food insecure, and 2 million lactating women and children under age 5 are expected to suffer from wasting,” UNICEF stressed.