More than one million people, including 345,000 children, are at risk of starvation as the worst famine since 1985 devastates communities in South Sudan.
In response, ChildFund Australia has launched the Africa Food Crisis Appeal, working in partnership with Plan International Australia to provide emergency food aid to the worst affected communities.
ChildFund Australia CEO Nigel Spence said: “A deadly combination of El Nino weather patterns, three years of civil conflict and collapse of the local economy has resulted in this horrific situation for children and families in South Sudan.
“It is also extremely concerning that neighbouring countries may shortly follow suit. We could see one of the worst ever humanitarian emergencies in north-east Africa unfold.”
The United Nations formally announced today that the food security crisis in South Sudan had now reached famine conditions. A famine can only be declared when three scenarios are met:
– At least 20 per cent of households in an area face extreme food shortages with a limited ability to cope;
– Acute malnutrition rates exceed 30 per cent; and
– The death rate exceeds two persons per day per 10,000 persons.
This is the situation in South Sudan today, and it is estimated that more than 20 million children and families across four countries, including Ethiopia and Kenya, could face life-threatening food shortages over the coming months.
“The extreme drought conditions, compounded by mid-season rain failures, are forcing many families to leave their villages in order to find the resources they need to survive. As a result, this is now the third largest refugee crisis worldwide.
“People already severely malnourished are taking to the road in a last ditch attempt to survive. We urge the Australian Government to support the international humanitarian response so that children and families are not forced to flee their homes and face even greater dangers.”
Photo Credit: Kate Holt/AP
On 16 June every year, ChildFund recognises the Day of the African Child. Across the African continent, children and adults mark this day by performing songs, skits and other presentations to call attention to children`s rights.
Despite these celebratory festivities, the Day of the African Child marks a tragic anniversary, when dozens of children and youth were killed during a student protest in Soweto, South Africa in 1976. Forty years later, African children still face many trials, including hunger, illiteracy, terrorism, civil warfare and gender-based violence.
The theme of this year`s Day of the African Child is “Conflict and Crisis in Africa: Protecting All Children`s Rights”, which focuses on child protection in regions where there is civil conflict. Currently, there are many threats to children in the region, including the ongoing civil war in Sudan and the rebel insurgency in northern Mali; while the kidnapping of 276 Nigerian schoolgirls in 2014 made headlines the world over, with most of the girls still being held captive. Other countries, including Liberia and Sierra Leone, are still recovering from the devastation caused by conflict in previous decades.
Armed conflict puts children in danger, and makes them more vulnerable to being hurt, killed or exploited. However, even in peaceful nations, children`s basic rights can be jeopardised due to corrosive practices.
Early marriage is one practice which continues to harm girls in many African countries. For 29-year-old Mavis from Zambia, being married as a child and having her first baby at age 13 has had a lasting impact on her life. Although she is now a happy mother of five children, she dreams that they will have a better childhood than she had.
Mavis explains: “I want my children to be educated. I don`t want my children to experience what I went through. Because I don`t know many things, I don`t know how to read or write my name. I don`t want my children to earn a living by selling tomatoes like me.”
Zambia`s child marriage rate is one of the world`s worst, with 42 percent of Zambian women between the ages of 20 and 24 being married before the age of 18. Unfortunately, many girls who marry and become mothers early miss out on a range of opportunities which could improve their living standards: education, leisure, civic participation, fulfilling work and self-determination.
On the Day of the African Child, ChildFund recognises the importance of guaranteeing the safety and protection of all children in Africa and across the world, and continues to work to ensure their rights are realised.
