“We’ve never seen it this bad”: South Sudan is facing its worst humanitarian crisis yet
Children in South Sudan are dying from hunger. The Polish Center for International Aid (PCPM) has been working in the country for eight years. Its staff warns that the situation is now more dire than ever. “We’ve never had to make such heartbreaking decisions,” says Aleksandra Mizerska from PCPM.
A. Mizerska, the organization’s regional director, emphasizes the dramatic situation of people fleeing Sudan. More than 90 percent of them are women and children seeking safety and any form of assistance.
In an interview with PAP, she explains that many of them have been repeatedly displaced. They fled South Sudan years ago due to conflict and poverty. Now they have returned, but with no family support or possessions. The government in Juba allocates them small plots of land in informal settlements, but these locations lack even the most basic services like clean water, electricity or access to sanitation and hygiene facilities.
Mizerska further notes that these settlements are comprised almost entirely of women and children. “Men are virtually absent,” she states.
“These families are left entirely to fend for themselves, without any help or support” she tells PAP. Such conditions, she warns, create an extremely high risk of disease outbreaks.
Most of these women undertook a long and exhausting journey in search of safety. Many have lost their husbands, who were either killed or became separated in the ensuing chaos, consequently leaving their families without any means of survival. Fleeing became the only recourse.
Mizerska recalls speaking with one refugee who told her that out of the 40 people she started her journey with, all the men were murdered along the way.
The number of people requiring help continues to rise, and extreme weather conditions- with cycles of drought and flooding- only exacerbate the crisis. PCPM has been providing local support to refugees for years, offering essential medical care and therapeutic food to severely malnourished children
“To help every child in need, PCPM would have to at least double the scale of its operations. Every week, between 150 and 550 children are brought to us—and 30 to 60 percent are in critical condition”, Mizerska informs PAP.
The war in Sudan, ongoing since April 2023, is considered the world’s worst humanitarian disaster. According to the UN, it is one of the few places currently facing famine. Exact casualty numbers are unknown, but estimates suggest tens of thousands of deaths and millions of displaced people.
PCPM’s support in South Sudan is only possible thanks to the generosity of donors. You can support the organization’s fundraiser HERE.
