Starving in South Sudan
This week on 60 Minutes, Scott Pelley reports from South Sudan on the famine emergency that has been declared in the world’s youngest nation. If not for the humanitarian effort there, millions could die.
Famine emergency
Holding off a catastrophe is the mission of the UN’s World Food Programme. Now WFP has launched one of its largest rescues ever, but in South Sudan too many people are fighting for life.
Pictured here are five-month-old twins Madit Garang and Nyaboth. They are being treated for severe acute malnutrition at International Medical Corps clinic at the Protection of Civilians (PoC) site in Juba, South Sudan.
Famine emergency
The twins were only four-and-a-half pounds at birth.
Famine emergency
South Sudanese children, suffering from starvation, are at risk for serious illness, including tuberculosis.
Here, a child struggling with severe acute malnutrition sits with her mother at International Medical Corps’ clinic in the Protection of Civilians (PoC) site in Juba, South Sudan.
Famine emergency
Illness for some has become so severe that ingesting solid foods could kill them. Nutrition must be introduced via milk-based formulas.
The International Medical Corps has specially formulated milk to treat malnourished children.
Famine emergency
Eight-month-old Yoal receives treatment for severe acute malnutrition. Yoal is the youngest of three children. This is her third time being admitted to the clinic.
Famine emergency
Two-year-old Nyekhor receives treatment for severe acute malnutrition at International Medical Corps’ clinic in the Protection of Civilians (PoC) site in Juba, South Sudan.
Famine emergency
The WFP is dropping food -- 33 tons at a time -- by cargo planes in an effort to alleviate some of South Sudan’s starvation.
Famine emergency
Two-and-a-half-year-old Chuol is being treated for a kind of malnutrition known as kwashiorkor, where the body retains fluid as a result of being deficient in micronutrients.
Famine emergency
Chuol’s puffy cheeks are a sign of bloating as a result of malnourishment.
Famine emergency
A child in International Medical Corps’ in-patient pediatric department.
Famine emergency
Akumu Justine Grace, a clinical officer, checks on the progress of twins suffering from severe acute malnutrition and diarrhea. Nutrition assistant Rose Moga helps her with the rounds in the stabilization center.
Famine emergency
This young child, Boi, was also admitted to the clinic with kwashiorkor.
For more information on the humanitarian effort and how to help, visit these websites:
World Food Program USA
International Medical Corps
The Enough Project