BBC:
The head of the United Nations children’s agency, Unicef, says Sudan is one of the worst places in the world for children.
Catherine Russell says it now has the largest displacement of children anywhere, with millions facing malnutrition and most not in school
She is travelling to the country torn apart by more than a year of brutal civil war as warnings of famine grow louder.
The pillars of Sudan’s food economy have collapsed, and both warring parties – the Sudanese army and a paramilitary group called the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) – are restricting the delivery of desperately needed aid.
Children were at the sharp end of this hunger crisis, Ms Russell told the BBC while en route in Nairobi: nine million don’t get enough to eat regularly, and nearly four million face acute malnutrition.
“We’re long past time where we need to act, we need to act now or it’s just going to get worse,” she said.
“You can always eventually make progress on something, so nothing is completely impossible. But for individual babies, for children, who are starving now, who are hungry, who are now severely malnourished, it will be too late for them.”
Earlier this month, the BBC spoke to a food security expert who said that by September, 70% of Sudan’s population will be extremely hungry.
“That could lead to two-and-a-half million deaths, or more” Timmo Gaasbeek said. “It could be as many as four million. There is just not enough food.”
