There are more than 1 million child refugees who have fled the war in South Sudan, according to the United Nations.
Inside the country, there are another 1 million who are displaced due to the fighting.
South Sudan has been embroiled in war since 2013, driving 1.8 million people out of the country seeking refuge, 62% of whom are kids, according to the report. The children who have fled and the children who remain in their homes both risk missing school and face food and water insecurity, in addition to trauma, according to the report. More than three-quarters of kids living inside South Sudan are out of school, according to the UN.
“No refugee crisis today worries me more than South Sudan. That refugee children are becoming the defining face of this emergency is incredibly troubling,” Valentin Tapsoba, the African bureau director for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
And with South Sudan officially facing famine in two counties, hundreds of thousands of children are at risk for starvation, according to the UN.
South Sudan has been embroiled in war since 2013, driving 1.8 million people out of the country seeking refuge, 62% of whom are kids, according to the report.
The children who have fled and the children who remain in their homes both risk missing school and face food and water insecurity, in addition to trauma, according to the report. More than three-quarters of kids living inside South Sudan are out of scsix-year-old South Sudanese refugee Santo, left, stands with his brother in Bidi Bidi camp, northern Uganda.hool, according to the UN.
And with South Sudan officially facing famine in two counties, hundreds of thousands of children are at risk for starvation, according to the UN.
“The future of a generation is truly on the brink. The horrifying fact that nearly one in five children in South Sudan has been forced to flee their home illustrates how devastating this conflict has been for the country’s most vulnerable.”Leila Pakkala, UNICEF’s Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa.
Source: Global Citizen. Read article here.
10 May, 2017
