55,000 children suffer from malnutrition in South Darfur

March 15, 2017 (NYALA) – An official source within the Health Ministry in South Darfur State has disclosed that at least 55,000 children suffer from malnutrition saying most of them are undergoing treatment at the State’s hospitals.

The official, who spoke to Sudan Tribune Wednesday on the condition of anonymity, said the children nutrition department in coordination with the federal health ministry and NGO’s partners are working to provide medical services to the malnourished children.

Meanwhile, South Darfur state has launched a campaign to survey the child malnutrition indicators for 414,000 children in 11 localities.

South Darfur health minister Yacoub Ibrahim has directed the campaign teams to cover children across the state, stressing the need to eradicate malnutrition.

He pointed the survey campaign was well prepared in order to determine the extent of malnutrition in the state.

For her part, the director of child nutrition department Rawda Yassen El-Sharif urged the families and parents to keep their children at home during the 3-day campaign.

She described the malnutrition percentage as “extremely high”, pointing to the huge efforts exerted by her department to reduce the disease.

El-Sharif further said that children with severe malnutrition are being transferred to nutrition centres at the State’s hospitals.

(ST)