With bleak prospects of rain, the so-called ”hungriest place on Earth” is not about to get any relief.
How bad is it in Akobo, Sudan?
According to Akobo’s top official, Goi Juoyul, a family of five will have to make do with a cup of grain for two days.
“If you stay here for a week you’ll have problems, even if you have money,” said Dr. Galiek Galou, one of three doctors at the hospital in Akobo, as quoted by The Associated Press. “There is nothing to buy.”
The World Food Program has already increased its aid to the town fourfold from January to March, according to AP. Save the Children and Medair found 253 severely malnourished children, whom they enrolled in a feeding program relying on fortified peanut butter. A study by the two organizations indicates that around 46 percent of children in the region suffer malnutrition.
The crisis in Akobo, a town on the border of Ethiopia, is attributed to tribal fighting and two years of dry spell.