October 12th (Nyamilepedia) – One in ten South Sudanese children does not make it to his or her fifth birthday, a international index ordanization have said in a report.
A 2018 Global Hunger Index (GHI) released by the Concern Worldwide, has explored that, one in ten children in South Sudan does not make it to their fifth birthday due to poor feeding.
“Nearly 1 in 10 children does not survive to his or her fifth birthday” said the report obtained by the Nyamilepedia.
The same study associated poor growth in infants with inadequate feeding, saying that child stunting, that always leads to failure to thrive among South Sudanese children, is estimated to be 37.6 percent.
“Child stunting and child wasting are estimated to be 37.6 percent and 28.6 percent, respectively, though updated child nutrition data are necessary,” the report said.
The report further blamed rise in displacement of refugees on the resurgence of violence in South Sudan blaming it for the displacement of 2.4 millions people across the country.
“The recent resurgence of fighting in South Sudan has resulted in more than 2.4 million refugees and 1.7 million IDPs (UNHCR 2018),” it said.
The study indicated that the Country’s Famine Early Warning System Network (FEWS NET) that has been monitoring food production and levels of food security in the country has suffered decline.
“A civil war that began in 2013 has plunged South Sudan into crisis. Largest segment of the population have been displaced. Engagement in typical economic activities including food production is severely limited (FEWS NET 2018C),” it added.
The analysis continued and said if humanitarian assistance is not made available over the course of these months, there’s will be a high likelihood of famine being declared again in the areas that have been affected most.
“In February 2017, the UN declared that the counties of Leer and Mayendit in Unity State were in the midst of famine (FAO 2017a). As of February 2018, nearly half of their country’s population faced crisis-level food insecurity or worse, with the possibility of famine unless humanitarian assistance is forthcoming (FEWS NET 2018c),” it added.
