WESTPORT, Conn. (May 28, 3014) — Save the Children is launching an appeal to raise funds for South Sudan, where children and families face a growing risk of famine. Across the world’s youngest nation, 2.5 million children are struggling without the basic means to survive.
In the states worst affected by fighting– Jonglei, Upper Nile and Unity – children have been forced to drop out of school to search for food. Many are now suffering from diarrhea, a potentially fatal condition when children’s bodies are weakened by hunger. In Akobo, families are arriving at Save the Children feeding clinics having walked for hours.
"Since the war started, we have been living in suffering," said Nyatot, the mother of a severely malnourished three year-old boy. "By next month, I am worried there will be no food for me and my children. We may have to travel [to Ethiopia] to get help."
Immediate action is needed to keep the situation from deteriorating rapidly. With the rainy season underway, roads will soon become impassable and aid agencies will struggle to deliver lifesaving food supplies and malnutrition treatment.
"Save the Children’s feeding clinics are dealing with an influx of severely malnourished children, brought in by terrified mothers, many of whom arrive after walking for miles,” said Pete Walsh, Save the Children’s Country Director in South Sudan. “We urgently need to raise funds to provide families with lifesaving food supplements…They need help and if we wait any longer, I fear all hope will be lost.”
You can help Save the Children continue to provide aid to malnourished children by donating to the South Sudan Children's Relief Fund.
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