JOHANNESBURG: The United Nations children’s agency is warning that almost 1.4 million children are at “imminent risk of death” as famine threatens parts of South Sudan, Nigeria, Somalia and Yemen.
The UNICEF announcement comes a day after famine was declared in parts of Unity state in South Sudan, where civil war has raged since late 2013 and where severe inflation has made food unaffordable for many.
UNICEF for months has warned about severe malnutrition in northeastern Nigeria, especially in areas that have been largely inaccessible because of the Boko Haram insurgency. The agency says nearly 500,000 children are expected to face severe malnutrition this year in Borno, Yobi and Adamawa states.
The agency says Somalia also faces drought and in Yemen’s conflict, nearly half a million children have “severe acute malnutrition.”
UNICEF warned that 462,000 children were suffering from acute malnutrition in Yemen.
Last month, the UNICEF chief Stephen O’Brien said the impoverished Arabian Peninsula country was sliding deeper into humanitarian crisis and could face famine this year.
O’Brien said that without “immediate action,” famine was “a possible scenario for 2017.”
In South Sudan, President Salva Kiir said Tuesday his government will ensure “unimpeded access” for all aid organizations.
The United Nations and others have long accused the government of blocking or restricting aid delivery in the East African nation.
Kiir’s remarks to the transitional national assembly came after the famine was declared in parts of oil-rich Unity state. More than 100,000 people are affected, according to South Sudan’s government and UN agencies. They say another 1 million people are on the brink of starvation.
South Sudan has repeatedly promised to allow full humanitarian access across the country, but with little effect. Some in Kiir’s government have expressed hostility toward the international community, accusing it of meddling in the country’s affairs.
Human Rights Watch researcher Jonathan Pedneault wrote Tuesday that the famine is a man-made result of “conflict, warring parties blocking access for aid workers and large-scale human rights violations.”
Also Tuesday, the European Commission announced an 82 million euro ($87 million) emergency aid package for South Sudan, saying this is the first famine declared in the country since it gained independence from Sudan in 2011.
“The humanitarian tragedy in South Sudan is entirely man-made,” EU Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Commissioner Christos Stylianides said in a statement. Crucially what matters is that all parties allow humanitarian organizations to have immediate and full access to do their job and deliver aid.”
Tens of thousands have died in the civil war that began in December 2013 and has continued despite a peace agreement in 2015. More than 1.5 million people have fled the country.
South Sudan also is experiencing severe inflation, which has made food unaffordable for many families.