500 children die from hunger in war-torn Sudan

By Agnel Maria

The aftermath of the ongoing conflict between military and rival paramilitary forces has led to the confirmed deaths of 498 children. But doctors and other officials on the ground said that the death toll is much higher than the reported statistics.

According to the doctors, the mortality rate of children caused by malnutrition is equal to 20% of cases received by the hospital.  31,000 children were unable to receive treatment for malnutrition and other related diseases as the charity, "Save the Children" organization, was forced to close 57 of its nutrition facilities.

Dying from avoidable hunger

"We never thought we would see so many children starving in Sudan, but this has become a reality today. Seriously ill children arrive in the arms of desperate mothers and fathers in nutrition centres across the country, and our staff have few options to treat them. We see children dying from avoidable hunger," said Arif Noor, Save the Children's Country Director in Sudan.

Following a similar incident in May, the World Food Program (WFP) announced that at least $14 million in food inventories had been looted. Dozens of warehouses housing food for the WFP and humanitarian groups such as Save the Children have been raided and destroyed.

Supplies of medical food are running low in the 108 Save the Children centres that are still open, and emergency supplies are now being used in the most severe cases.

Appeal

The Organization urges the international community to raise funds and work together to create collaborative solutions to ensure that humanitarian supplies and food reach children and their families.

Many families across the conflict-torn country are living without electricity, water, and medical facilities of Sudan have collapsed.