Iran Press/ Africa: A record 4.5 million children, or two out of three, in South Sudan are in desperate need of humanitarian support, said the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) on Tuesday, ahead of the 10th anniversary of the country's independence.
Saji Abdullah, UNICEF Deputy Representative in Sudan, said that about three million children under the age of five in the country are currently malnourished, adding that 570,000 of them are in deplorable conditions.
Hopes that independence from Sudan would bring a new dawn for the country's children have faded. Bouts of violence and conflict, recurring floods, droughts and other extreme weather events fuelled by climate change, and a deepening economic crisis have led to extremely high food insecurity, and one of the world's worst humanitarian crises said UNICEF in a press release.
Sudan has been embroiled in a civil war and ethnic strife in recent years.
More than a decade of unrest in Darfur has spawned lawlessness and increased inter-ethnic rivalry. In recent years, the biggest contributor to the death toll has been violence between different rebel groups.
Since the civil war began in Darfur, the UN estimates that more than two million people have fled their homes.
