Rates of malnutrition among children in Sudan's embattled Darfur region have reached their highest levels in 3 years, according to a report by United Nations (UN) agencies and the Sudanese government.
Despite efforts of more than 13 000 relief workers from 13 UN agencies and 80 nongovernmental organizations, 16.1% of children younger than 5 years are malnourished compared with 12.9% least year. Malnutrition was highest among young children (6-20 months old). The report also found that North Darfur had the highest malnutrition rate in the region, exceeding 20%. It is the first time that the rate has exceeded the World Health Organization's 15% "emergency threshold" for malnutrition since 2004, a year after the conflict in Darfur began.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that continuing insecurity in the region is an important factor contributing to rising malnutrition rates.
In late January, the UN World . . . [Full Text of this Article]
