Written by Edith Mutesia from Nairobi, Kenya | ChinaDaily.com.cn | Updated: 2024-10-03 20:11
Robica Peter, 25, holds a severely malnourished child in the pediatric ward of Mother of Mercy Hospital in Gidel, South Kordofan, Sudan, June 25, 2024. (Photo/Agency)
East Africa is facing the world’s largest and worst humanitarian crisis due to climate change, conflict, political instability, disease and economic shocks.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a statement on Tuesday that around 67 million people, including refugees and asylum seekers, are in need of assistance in the region, accounting for more than 21 percent of the world’s humanitarian needs. Ta.
More than 55 million people face severe hunger in eastern Africa, 26 million of them in Sudan, and starvation has been confirmed in the Zamzam camp for internally displaced persons in North Darfur, the United Nations agency said.
Ethiopia also faces severe food insecurity, and the number of people facing hunger in South Sudan is expected to more than double this year.
More than 2.6 million children under the age of five face severe acute malnutrition in Ethiopia, Burundi, Eritrea, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan and Uganda, the United Nations agency said.
Large-scale displacement continues, primarily due to ongoing conflict in Sudan and the effects of climate change across the region, with more than 26 percent of the world’s 75.9 million internally displaced people living in the region. I’m here. More than 10 million of the region’s internally displaced people are in Sudan.
The region currently hosts nearly 5.4 million refugees, an increase of more than five times over the past decade. Uganda hosts the largest number of refugees in Africa, with approximately 2 million people, making it the fifth largest country in the world.
In addition to conflict and climate change, disease continues to afflict millions of people across East Africa. There are currently 776 confirmed cases of MPOX in Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda.
Additionally, cholera remains a major public health concern, affecting Ethiopia, Somalia, Uganda, and Tanzania.
Measles outbreaks have also been reported in Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, as well as in South Sudan, where 41 related deaths have been reported this year, the UN agency said.
