UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Malnutrition is increasing in Sudan's violence-wracked Darfur region along with lawlessness and the number of people fleeing their homes, a senior U.N. official said.
"The humanitarian situation in the last few months has become more critical in many parts of Darfur," Assistant Secretary-General Margareta Wahlstrom, the U.N.'s deputy humanitarian chief, told a news conference Friday.
She said she expects Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to raise the worsening humanitarian situation in Darfur with Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir when he visits Sudan next week.
The humanitarian operation in Darfur remains the largest in the world — as it has been for the past three years — with 4 million people now dependent on humanitarian assistance as a consequence of the protracted conflict, rising tension and increasing lawlessness, she said.
She said 18 spot surveys by U.N. agencies and non-governmental organizations in the three Darfur provinces all found that for the first time in three years the number of malnutrition cases has increased beyond the emergency threshold of 15% to "well over 17% being detected in some areas."
Source: Malnutrition, lawlessness are increasing in Darfur - USATODAY.com
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