Agency Warns of Widespread Death by Starvation in Sudan
The famine crisis in northern Bahr El Ghazal in southern Sudan is becoming acute, say aid workers for a Christian human rights organization for religious liberty.
The famine crisis in northern Bahr El Ghazal in southern Sudan is becoming acute, say aid workers for a Christian human rights organization for religious liberty. Meanwhile, civil commissioners of northern Bahr El Ghazal have warned that all signs point to a humanitarian catastrophe as severe as the great famines of 1988 and 1999 which produced deaths on the scale of the devastating Dec. 26 earthquake/tsunami in the Indian Ocean.
Christian Solidarity International (CSI), which has been delivering aid to displaced civilians from Darfur and recently liberated slaves during the past six months, reported Wednesday that the famine crisis has been compounded by a massive influx of people to the hunger zone from Northern Sudan.
CSI physician Dr. Luka Deng estimated that famine would produce widespread death by starvation before the end of April, unless UN and other relief agencies undertake immediate massive intervention. In his report, Deng stated that malnutrition, especially among children, is increasing at an alarming rate, as is the proportion of the population that is dependent for survival on scavenging for leaves and other wild food.
Although the UN's World Food Program (WFP) has acknowledged that the severe food shortage has put 3.2 million lives at risk and has launched an emergency appeal to raise $302 million for the purchase of 267,900 tons of food, CSI reported that as of mid-January, donor countries have agreed to contribute only 3.5 percent of the required amount.
CSI is urging the UN to establish, without further delay, an air bridge for the delivery of food, seeds and agricultural tools to the famine-affected areas.
