Khartoum, September 19(Darfur24) UNICEF Sudan said it received the first batch of life-saving ready-to-use therapeutic food from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Humanitarian Aid Office.
500 metric tons (about 36,512 cartons of ready-made RUTF) arrived in Port Sudan in mid-September.
UNICEFstated that this shipment comes at a critical time, as Sudan has witnessed an increase in the number of severely malnourished children in the past two months.
According to the UN, 3 million children suffer from malnutrition in Sudan, including an estimated 650,000 children under the age of five who suffer from severe malnutrition .
UNICEF said it was able to reach nearly 137,000 girls and boys with life-saving therapeutic food and treatment, including 100,800 children, with support from USAID and the British Health Association.
UNICEF Sudan, as the only provider of RUTF, says it will urgently distribute the newly received quantities of food to the states most affected by food insecurity, including Darfur, East and Kordofan states.