October 11, Kauda — Over 54,000 children are suffering from malnutrition and more than 850 people have died of hunger in Nuba Mountains and Blue Nile, according to Jatiega Amoja Delman, Head of the Media Committee of the National Liberation Council affiliated with the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement North.
Delman said that the response of the United Nations and other humanitarian agencies has been “extremely weak,” attributing this to obstacles imposed by the Sudanese government in Port Sudan. Allegedly the government have refused to grant staff of World Food Program entry permits to the affected areas for 15 months.
The Nuba Mountains region is located in southern Sudan and largely controlled by the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement North. A poor rainy season last year and a plague of locusts have also increased food insecurity in the area.
The First Secretary of New Sudan Civilian Authority, Arno Lodi, said in a press statement that the delay in delivering relief puts the lives of three million citizens, including over 760,000 displaced persons, at risk.