A similar number of children have also fled the country, making up 62 percent of the nearly two million South Sudanese refugees who have arrived in neighbouring countries, mainly in Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia and Sudan, say the two UN Agencies.
South Sudan has been wracked by civil conflict since December 2013, when President Salva Kiir fired his deputy, Riek Machar, accusing him of planning a coup, an allegation he has denied. The combination of fighting and famine has caused tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of 3.5 million people in one of the world's largest humanitarian crises.
The UN announcements came on the same day that a monitoring group warned a third county in South Sudanese is at risk of famine. The Famine Early Warning Systems Network said starvation is likely to occur in Koch county. A state of famine has already been declared in the counties of Leer and Mayendit, with a million people said to be at risk.
The new report says famine is likely to spread during the low season for farmers from July to September. It says that without humanitarian aid, famine could be declared in even more areas.
To read more, visit:
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/05/2m-children-displaced-south-sudan-conflict-170508033845325.html
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/south-sudan-wau-evans-1.4098191
