South Sudan is in the throes of a tragedy for children that affects more than half the child population – victims of malnutrition, disease, forced recruitment, violence and the loss of schooling – UNICEF said in a report released today.
Years of insecurity and upheaval have had a “staggering impact on children”, threatening an entire generation, the report, Childhood under Attack, says.
The numbers tell a grim story:
- Almost three million children are severely food insecure;
- more than one million are acutely malnourished;
- 2.4 million have been forced from their homes;
- two million children out of school, and if the current situation persists, only one in 13 children are likely to finish primary school;
- an estimated 900,000 children suffer from psychological distress;
- more than 19,000 children have been recruited in the ranks of armed forces and armed groups;
- and more than 2,300 children have been killed or injured since the conflict first erupted in December 2013, with hundreds of incidents of rape and sexual assault against children having been reported.