Four years after independence, South Sudan is experiencing a major humanitarian crisis. The conflict ravaging the young country has hit children the hardest. They are facing hunger, disease, violence and displacement. In Akobo, Jonglei state, over 15 percent of children are severely malnourished – well above crisis levels – including many children who have fled the fighting in nearby towns.
In partnership with the European Commission's Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection department (ECHO), Save the Children has supported nearly 50 000 children in South Sudan with education, child protection, nutrition, shelter and healthcare. The EU with its Member States has so far provided more than one third of all humanitarian financing to South Sudan, according to the UN, amounting to over €215 million in 2015 alone.
"Since the war started, we have been living in suffering, we're just helpless. What I eat with my children is not enough. We eat just once a day. I fear that by next month there will be no food left for me and my children," Nyatot says.
"The war has made life very hard. We have been badly affected. My child has been ill for a long time. He got measles and then became very sick with diarrhoea. Now he’s malnourished too," she adds.
Since December 2013, South Sudan has been engulfed by violence. Driven from their homes, over a million people are sheltering in overcrowded camps and informal settlements at risk of hunger, violence and disease. The humanitarian crisis in the world's youngest country is also a 'children crisis': an estimated 248 000 children under five years of age are severely undernourished, and around 60% of the South Sudanese refugees in the region are children and youth under 18.
Jonglei is one of the worst affected states with over 200 000 displaced people and some of the highest levels of malnutrition in the country. In Akobo county in Jonglei over a quarter of the children are severely malnourished.
With the help of the European Union, Save the Children has established five feeding centres providing over a thousand children with life-saving treatment.
When Nyatot took three-year-old Nhial to one such centre, he was screened and treated by specially trained staff, as well as provided with the medication and nutritious supplements he needs to make a full recovery.
She explains that the boy has been better since she took him to the centre – and that "he's not like he was before".
"I was worried about him because his body was suffering and he wasn't getting better. If there had been no medicines available at the health centre when he became sick, he could have easily died," she adds.
Aid agencies are warning that the severe food crisis could impact millions.
Peter Walsh, country director for South Sudan at Save the Children, says that more than a third of children in the country are currently malnourished, with over 20% suffering from acute malnutrition and 4% being severely malnourished. He describes this as "life-threatening hunger".
The United Nations warn that tens of thousands of children could die if the conflict does not stop and if people cannot return to their homes and resume their livelihoods.
*All names have been altered to protect the identity of the interviewees.
Elitsa Vucheva, Communication Officer, European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection department (ECHO) @theelkins8