South Sudan Is Officially In Famine. This Is What That Means

The first famine in six years has been declared in the world's newest nation, South Sudan. To understand just how dire the situation is, you need to understand the United Nations' reluctance to use the f-word: famine. Famine has a very specific definition....

The first famine in six years^[1] has been declared in the world's newest nation, South Sudan. To understand just how dire the situation is, you need to understand the United Nations' reluctance to use the f-word: famine.

Famine has a very specific definition. It must meet three criteria^[2] before it can be declared: four out of every 10,000 children die each day, one in five families do not have enough food to meet basic human nutrition requirements, and one in three people are acutely malnourished to the point that they are too weak to go to school or work.

To put this into context, if famine were declared in the state of Victoria, 400 children would die daily from starvation. And if famine were declared in Australia, 1700 children would die every day.

Famine can be hard to comprehend unless you've seen it firsthand. It is ghastly.

As it stands, 1 million men, women and children are on the brink of starvation in South Sudan. And 4.9 million^[3] people -- more than 40 percent of South Sudan's population -- are in need of urgent food, agriculture and nutrition assistance. This figure is likely to rise to 5.5 million at the height of the lean season in July if nothing is done to curb the severity and spread of the food crisis.

As is the case with so many emergencies in the developing world, it is girls who suffer most. Plan South Sudan estimates 100,000 girls^[4] are currently at immediate risk of harm.

Famine can be hard to comprehend unless you've seen it firsthand. It is ghastly. I was on the ground during the response to the last two famines, first in 1991 in Somalia and then during the 2011 East African drought.^[5][6]

You see children with skeletal arms and legs, desperately clinging to life. And when they are rescued, they have to be put on drips because they are too weak to feed through their mouths. The doctors are trying to bring them back from the edge of death.

I've seen children lose the fight simply because their bodies are so weak. Sometimes, they die from pneumonia because of their compromised immune systems, or they die from diarrhoea because their bodies are too frail to fight the loss of liquid. They are so very vulnerable. It is heartbreaking.

As an aid worker living this reality, you wonder why governments did not release enough money or raise enough resources to help in time. You wonder: how did we get in this situation? You feel guilty and the only thing you can do is your best to try and change it. This is why we need people to listen early and respond early.

If you go back to Ethiopia in 1984^[7] -- which was the biggest famine in a generation -- there was a very harsh drought compounded by the fact that normal food transfers and trade within the country was blocked by war. That created a perfect storm for people to become isolated from food supplies and end up completely destitute. It was largely invisible to the world until BBC reporters were able to get into the country and expose what was happening.

ALSO ON HUFFPOST AUSTRALIA

Suggest a correction^[9]

References

1. ^{^} first famine in six years (www.aljazeera.com)
2. ^{^} three criteria (www.un.org)
3. ^{^} 4.9 million (www.un.org)
4. ^{^} 100,000 girls (www.plan.org.au)
5. ^{^} 1991 in Somalia (www.bbc.com)
6. ^{^} 2011 East African drought. (www.bbc.com)
7. ^{^} Ethiopia in 1984 (www.bbc.com)
8. ^{^} ongoing conflict (www.un.org)
9. ^{^} Suggest a correction (www.bing.com)