Zalingei, May 1(Darfur 24)
Residents of Central Darfur state confirmed new deaths among children due to malnutrition, amid the rise in food supplies and the absence of humanitarian aid.
Resident Musa Haroun, from the “Bendsi” area in Central Darfur, told “Darfur 24” that the region is witnessing the emergence of cases of malnutrition due to the high prices of maize and millet, their scarcity, and the absence of humanitarian aid.
Haroun affirmed 3 deaths among children due to malnutrition were recorded in the last week of last April, adding that there is no body responsible for following up on cases and reporting them because the Pendsi Hospital has stopped working since it was vandalized at the beginning of the war, except for the health insurance center in the locality, and some treatment services provided by volunteers. From the hospital staff at the health insurance headquarters.
In the last week of last April, the markets of various cities in Central Darfur witnessed a hike in the prices of maize and millet crops, which increased the fears of citizens affected by the war with the delay in the arrival of humanitarian aid to the state.
The price of a bag of corn in the market of Zalingei, reached (60) thousand pounds, according to the tide price, which is the smallest package sufficient to provide a meal for a family of four people in one week (3) thousand pounds, while the price of a bag of millet reached (100) thousand pounds, according to The price of one madd is (5) thousand pounds. This is in addition to the cost of one madd flour, which amounted to one thousand pounds for both types, an increase of double the prices compared to what they were during the last month of Ramadan.
In the Bindisi and Mukjar markets located in the south of the state, which are considered among the sources that used to support the Zalingei market with agricultural crops, including corn and millet, their markets witnessed a similar rise in the prices of staple foods, with a slight increase in the prices of the Mukjar market over Bindisi and Zalingei, where the price of a sack of millet reached (120) thousand. The price of one madd is (6) thousand pounds, and the price of a sack of corn has increased to reach (70) thousand pounds, and the price of a madd is (3.500) pounds.
In his statement to Darfur 24, trader Ahmed Ali attributed the reasons for the rise in prices to the delay in the arrival of humanitarian aid to the state, with the approaching rains leading to the closure of some roads linking the cities of the state.
He added, “What made matters worse was the cessation of government support from the strategic stock of corn and millet, which had arrived before the beginning of the fall season and was being distributed to the localities, as it had contributed to the stability of the prices of the two crops until near the end of the fall.”
He pointed out that among other things, vast areas of more than two thousand acres, which produced significant amounts of corn and millet in the state, were removed due to the war that prevented the population from cultivating them.