United Nations warns malnutrition is soaring in Sudan

New York, USA: The United Nations warned that malnutrition is soaring in Sudan, pointing out that some 220,000 severely malnourished children could di...

New York, USA: The United Nations warned that malnutrition is soaring in Sudan, pointing out that some 220,000 severely malnourished children could die in the coming months if they do not receive urgent assistance.

Spokesman for the United Nations Secretary-General Stephane Dujarric pointed to the alarming reports of child deaths related to malnutrition, including at displacement sites in Darfur. Across Sudan, some 3.7 million children are suffering from malnutrition. Many are unable to access treatment, especially those living in areas that are difficult to reach.

Dujarric reiterated the appeal for a silencing of the guns during the holy month of Ramadan. He warned that the crisis in Sudan is on track to becoming the world's largest hunger crisis. Some 18 million people are facing acute food insecurity, a number that fear will surge when the lean season arrives in the coming months, Dujarric said.

The spokesman for the UN Secretary-General stressed that additional resources are also needed in Sudan for the United Nations to scale up the response so far, this year's humanitarian appeal, calling for $2.7 billion, is just 5 percent funded.

Dujarric said "we also need rapid and unfettered humanitarian access to people in need across the country including for those held behind conflict lines."