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Hundreds of thousands of children in Yemen are at risk of starvation, the UN says, due to a brutal civil war there [Xinhua]
Conflicts and civil strife have brought South Sudan, Somalia, Nigeria and Yemen to the edge of famine, he said.
“Famine is already a reality in parts of South Sudan,” Guterres said at UN Headquarters in New York yesterday. “Unless we act now, it is only a matter of time until it affects other areas and other countries. We are already facing a tragedy. We must avoid it becoming a catastrophe. This is preventable if the international community takes decisive action.
Guterres said that the UN agencies need about $4.4 billion before the end of March to help the most critical populations in these countries. He said that only 2 per cent of the sum had so far been pledged.
The situation is particularly dire in Yemen where the two-year conflict has debilitated the health sector leaving hundreds of thousands of children at risk of starvation and death. More than 350,000 children are at risk of starvation in Yemen, with some 7 million of the population lacking basic services and health care.
In South Sudan, a civil war there has displaced millions of civilians.
“Nearly one in four of the South Sudan’s citizens is displaced within its borders or in neighboring countries, affecting some 2.6 million people against a population that stood at 11.3 million in 2013. A large majority are children,” the UN refugee agency UNHCR said in its 2016 report.
The BRICS Post with inputs from Agencies
