World Vision reaching out to malnourished children in South Sudan

Little Emma cries incessantly, but hardly any sound comes from her. At twelve months old she weighs a paltry 4.5kgs, and has a middle upper-arm circumference of (MUAC) of 9 cm, way below the 13.5 cm threshold. At 12 months old Emma should weigh about double what she currently does. She also has swollen glands, which indicates that in addition to being severely malnourished she also has a medical condition.

Next to her, Amu, also 12 months old, gives a brave little smile. He tries to play but does not have the energy. He weighs 6kg and has a muac of 10cm. He is also severely malnourished.

Following the recent violence that rocked Juba, thousand of people were displaced and World Vision immediately stepped in with emergency response to meet various needs, including nutrition support.

Even before the violence broke out, South Sudan was already facing widespread food insecurity and malnutrition with a risk of famine growing in several parts of the country.

According to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) for the Republic of South Sudan released in June, the overall food security and nutrition situation has continued to worsen resulting in over 4.8 million people (about a third of the population) experiencing acute levels of hunger and malnutrition.

This is an increase of one million people overall and a 40 percent increase in number of children treated for severe malnutrition since the same period last year.

According to World Vision’s National Nutrition Officer, Akol Nankar, the emergency nutrition response involves assessment for malnutrition by checking their weight, measuring their mid-upper arm circumference (muac) as well as basic physical checks to check for medical conditions.

“Those found to be found to be suffering from acute malnutrition are admitted into the out-patient therapeutic programme (OTP) where they receive high protein fortified ready to eat supplement,” says Akol.

These supplements treat malnutrition and for those found to have medical conditions such as Emma, in addition to the supplements, they are referred to a stabilization centre in a medical facility where they can also receive medical attention.