Children at risk of dying in Sudan’s famine-hit Darfur
Malnourished children in a famine-hit camp for war-displaced people in Sudan's western Darfur region are at risk of dying, an aid group said Sunday, because it was forced to ration malnutrition treatment due to a blockade imposed by a notorious paramilitary group.
Doctors Without Borders said the Rapid Support Forces, which have besieged al-Fasher city as part of its war against the Sudanese military, have blocked three trucks carrying lifesaving medical supplies, including therapeutic food, for the city and the nearby Zamzam camp, where famine was confirmed last week.
International experts in the Famine Review Committee confirmed Thursday that starvation at Zamzam camp, where up to 600 000 people shelter, has grown into a full-blown famine.
Critical
International experts use set criteria to confirm the existence of famines. A famine is declared in an area when one in five people or households severely lacks food and faces starvation and destitution that would ultimately lead to critical levels of acute malnutrition and death.
In Zamzam camp, which has swelled with the arrival of new displaced people, many children are in critical condition, Doctors Without Borders said, adding that the malnutrition ward at its field hospital in the camp is overcrowded with a 126% bed occupancy rate.
The group said RSF fighters have blocked the trucks in the town of Kabkabiya for over a month, adding that it was forced to limit the number of children receiving therapeutic food in the overcrowded camp as its stock of medicine covers only two weeks.
“Deliberately obstructing or delaying humanitarian cargo is putting the lives of thousands of children at risk as they are cut off from receiving life-saving treatment,” it said on social media platform X.
There was no immediate comment from the RSF.
The UN's coordinator in Sudan, Clementine Nkweta-Salami, on Friday called for a cease-fire to enable safe and unimpeded humanitarian access across borders and battle lines, as well as scaling up financial support to prevent large-scale famine in Sudan.
Doctors Without Borders said the Rapid Support Forces, which have besieged al-Fasher city as part of its war against the Sudanese military, have blocked three trucks carrying lifesaving medical supplies, including therapeutic food, for the city and the nearby Zamzam camp, where famine was confirmed last week.
International experts in the Famine Review Committee confirmed Thursday that starvation at Zamzam camp, where up to 600 000 people shelter, has grown into a full-blown famine.
Critical
International experts use set criteria to confirm the existence of famines. A famine is declared in an area when one in five people or households severely lacks food and faces starvation and destitution that would ultimately lead to critical levels of acute malnutrition and death.
In Zamzam camp, which has swelled with the arrival of new displaced people, many children are in critical condition, Doctors Without Borders said, adding that the malnutrition ward at its field hospital in the camp is overcrowded with a 126% bed occupancy rate.
The group said RSF fighters have blocked the trucks in the town of Kabkabiya for over a month, adding that it was forced to limit the number of children receiving therapeutic food in the overcrowded camp as its stock of medicine covers only two weeks.
“Deliberately obstructing or delaying humanitarian cargo is putting the lives of thousands of children at risk as they are cut off from receiving life-saving treatment,” it said on social media platform X.
There was no immediate comment from the RSF.
The UN's coordinator in Sudan, Clementine Nkweta-Salami, on Friday called for a cease-fire to enable safe and unimpeded humanitarian access across borders and battle lines, as well as scaling up financial support to prevent large-scale famine in Sudan.
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