A war zone isn't known just for violent deaths but for lingering ones caused by the effects of starvation. The world's aid groups are working to mitigate the danger as it surges in several spots on the globe at once. "There are too many crises and not enough interest, and the arguments have not been made strongly enough for Haiti," says Martine Villeneuve, country director in Haiti for Action Against Hunger, an international aid group.
“It’s often that a child is extremely malnourished, and then they get sick and that virus is ultimately what causes that death,” said Heather Stobaugh, a malnutrition expert at Action Against Hunger, an aid group. “But they would not have died if they were not malnourished.”
While cautioning that it was difficult to say what had happened without more information, Dr. Stobaugh said that malnutrition in pregnant mothers and the lack of formula could easily have led to the deaths of infants, who are the most vulnerable to extreme malnutrition.
"It's a technical term that sort of encapsulates a series of conditions," said Tobias Stillman, Action Against Hunger's director of technical services and innovation. "So very significant food insecurity, meaning people don't have sufficient food to support their physiological need ... so they are both experiencing hunger and physiologically in many cases, compensating for the lack of food."
Floods have also had devastating effects on the continent. The global Action Against Hunger organisation echoed similar concerns, indicating last November that nearly 1.6 million people throughout the horn of Africa were displaced by severe climate-induced floods.
NGOs including Save the Children and Action Against Hunger made the same point in a joint statement, warning of the "complete collapse" of the humanitarian response in Gaza, where food and water shortages are widespread.
Before the war, cases of acute malnutrition like those being recorded today were non-existent, international NGO Action Against Hunger noted in a recent report on conflict-induced hunger in Gaza.
Jack Seal, communications officer at Action Against Hunger, explained to The New Arab that a state of famine can only be declared when certain criteria is met.
Amou and 24 other CNVs in the surrounding villages have been trained on community mobilization, malnutrition screening, and tracing support to prior cases in the management of acute malnutrition through partner Action Against Hunger, with support from UNICEF and funding from UK Aid, European Commission/ECHO, USAID, France, Canada and Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance.
UNICEF, with generous funding from Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) and implemented by Action Against Hunger (ACF) is piloting the cash program in 17 villages in Aweil aligned with existing nutrition program in the areas.
France's announcement of a cut in its development aid has prompted an angry response from French NGOs working abroad, especially in the Middle East and Africa.