About 500 children die from hunger in Sudan: Save the Children
"Save the Children International" has said that about five hundred children have died from hunger in Sudan since fighting erupted between the military and a rival paramilitary force four months ago.
"At least 498 children in Sudan and likely hundreds more have died from hunger, including two dozen babies in a state orphanage," Save the Children - a worldwide non-profit organization that aims to improve the living of children - said in a statement on Tuesday.
The charity said at least 50 children, including two dozen babies, died of starvation or related illnesses in an orphanage in Khartoum in the first six weeks of the conflict.
It said the fighting prevented Save the Children staff from accessing the building to care for them.
The organization said it had been forced to close 57 of its nutrition facilities since the war began and that stocks were running "critically low" in the 108 it still operates.
"Never did we think we would see children dying from hunger in such numbers, but this is now the reality in Sudan," said Save the Children's Sudan country director, Arif Noor.
"Seriously ill children are arriving in the arms of desperate mothers and fathers at nutrition centers across the country and our staff have few options on how to treat them.
"We are seeing children dying from entirely preventable hunger."
Sudan plunged into chaos after tensions between the military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) exploded into open fighting on April 15. The conflict has turned the capital Khartoum and other urban areas into battlefields.
Many residents live without water and electricity, and the country’s healthcare system has nearly collapsed.
Last week, 20 international humanitarian organizations warned that "more than six million Sudanese people are one step away from famine."
The violence is estimated to have killed at least 4,000 people, according to UN figures. Activists and doctors on the ground, however, say the death toll is likely far higher.
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