Humanitarian aid organisation World Vision UK has warned that tens of thousands of children across East Africa could die from starvation unless the world acts soon to stop the famine affecting millions in the region.
The Charity group says twenty-two million people are in need of vital support and more than 3.5 million children are suffering from severe malnutrition.
This Statement was made during a meeting where the England based Non-profit organization was thanking UK for its recent announcement of emergency aid for South Sudan and Somalia, as well long-term commitment to the needs of the suffering.
‘We commend the UK government’s efforts in East Africa and welcome that it is leading the charge to help some of the world’s most vulnerable people,’ said Peter Keegan, World Vision UK’s government relations manager. ‘We’re delighted that new packages of UK aid have been announced for South Sudan and Somalia.
Last week, Somali authorities announced the first tally of fatalities from the crisis, saying that 110 people had died from hunger in a 48-hour period in a single region.
In South Sudan, a civil war has prevented crops from being harvested and brought about economic collapse, prompting the United Nations to officially declare parts of the country as suffering from famine — the first time anywhere in the world since Somalia in 2011.
Officials warn that some 5.5 million people, nearly half the the country’s population, will not have a reliable source of food by July. Around 100,000 people in South Sudan — the world’s newest country — are at immediate risk of starvation.
‘As International Development Secretary Priti Patel has noted, this is now an emergency.
‘We have only a small window of opportunity to avoid regional catastrophe and we hope the international community will follow Britain’s lead in responding to the crisis.’
World Vision UK has Friday launched East Africa Hunger Crisis appeal, a campaign to raise urgent financial support for 2.2 million of the most vulnerable children in Somalia, South Sudan, Ethiopia and Kenya.
The donation page for World Vision’s appeal can be found here.
