Hunger kills more than 40 people in S. Sudan’s Amadi state
July 11, 2017 (YAMBIO) – More than 40 people have died as a result of hunger in Mvolo county of South Amadi State, authorities disclosed Tuesday.
“In Mvolo, we have a serious hunger as a result of the dry spell and due to influx of IDPs [Internally Displaced Person] from some payams who were displaced due to conflict between cattle keepers and farmers in Mvolo county and because of the crisis in the country we have people who came from Yambio, Maridi, Mundri and other places who fled due to conflict in those area,” Moga told Sudan Tribune.
“Since 2015, we have a serious drought in Mvolo which resulted into poor harvest and people could not plant well as it used to be in the previous years. As per now people are surviving on wild fruits and very few people have vegetables that they are feeding on, but this is not enough for the entire population,” he added.
In response to the crisis, Moga said, the Catholic Medical Mission Board (CMMB) and the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) are assisting primary health care centers handling children suffering from malnutrition and other diseases within the county.
The official appealed to other partners to visit Mvolo and assess the conditions being faced by women and children in the county and offer the necessary assistance.
An estimated 1.1 million children in the country are acutely malnourished, according to UNICEF. In addition, children lack clean water, which has led to the ongoing outbreak of cholera – the longest and most widespread in the country’s history – with 10,000 cases reported, the majority children.
The civil war in South Sudan has raged on for the past three years with such viciousness that parts of the country are bereft of food and a third of the population fled their homes.
(ST)