Malnutrition steadily worsening in south

NAIROBI, Sep 2, 2003 (IRIN) — Average rates of malnutrition in southern Sudan have been steadily worsening since 2001 causing “a major humanitarian crisis”, according to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

Every survey undertaken in Bahr el Ghazal and Upper Nile since the beginning of the year showed at least 20 percent malnutrition rates. The measure – Global Acute Malnutrition (GAM) – applies to children under five who are below 80 per cent weight for their height.

Mortality rates in Old Fangak, in Upper Nile, which currently has the worst rates of malnutrition in the world, have almost doubled since September 2002.

But while in Bahr el Ghazal there is a coordinated response to the situation from aid agencies and the UN, many areas of Upper Nile are not being catered for with feeding programmes, UNICEF said.

This is mainly due to general insecurity and oil-related militia activity, the expense of having to fly aid into the area, and resource problems within agencies.

“It is partly a reflection of how difficult it is to intervene, also we have to ask ourselves if it is a form of fatigue on the part of donors and agencies,” said Ben Parker, spokesman for the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan. “What is regarded as normal in southern Sudan, even by African standards, is higher than elsewhere.”

Maxine Clayton, head of Action Contre la Faim – which has conducted many of the surveys in Upper Nile – emphasised the need for all aid agencies and donors to focus not just on delivering food, but also on providing clean water and health care to prevent further malnutrition.

“There isn’t going to be an impact if we just concentrate on food,” she told IRIN, adding that only in the last few months had agencies begun to look at this multi-sectoral approach seriously.

The World Food Programme meanwhile says it has been forced to cut food rations to Sudan by 50 percent since mid-July because of funding problems.