Child Malnutrition Crisis Deepens in South Sudan
Child Malnutrition Crisis Deepens in South Sudan GENEVA— The United Nations Children’s Fund reports that hundreds of thousands of children in South Sudan are severely malnourished. The agency said the situation is getting worse as the country’s conflict drags on. Millions of people in South Sudan are suffering from growing food shortages due to conflict and rising prices for increasingly scarce commodities. But, UNICEF said children are hit hardest by this catastrophic situation. UNICEF says it has treated 120,000 South Sudanese children under five for severe malnutrition in the past six months. It says this is an increase of nearly 50 percent over the same period last year and more than 150 percent increase compared to 2014. UNICEF spokesman, Christophe Boulierac said his agency now plans to treat more than a quarter-million severely malnourished children this year. In some areas, he said, up to a ...