The rate of global acute malnutrition (GAM) among South Sudanese refugees who have recently arrived in northwest Kenya is about 26%, the UN Refugee Agency stated in a recent report.

In a report covering the period 27 October to 7 November, UNHCR said that the rates of malnutrition and severe malnutrition are “above the acceptable thresholds.”

“Out of 284 newly arrived children (below 5 years) screened for malnutrition between 28 October to 5 November, 74 were found to be malnourished and 41 with severely acute malnutrition,” reads the report.

This means that the rate of general acute malnutrition is 26% and the rate severe acute malnutrition is 14.4%.

The refugee agency also dislosed that the number of unaccompanied or separated children who arrived at Kakuma refugee camp since late 2013 is in the thousands, representing approximately 15% of the population of new arrivals.

There are about 44,131 refugees from South Sudan who arrived in Kenya since 15 December 2013.  Kenya hosts the fourth largest South Sudanese refugee population behind Ethiopia, Uganda and Sudan.

The refugee population in neighboring countries is expected to increase if South Sudan’s rival SPLM-IO and SPLM-Juba factions again go to war this dry season.  

Photo: A child suffering from severe malaria in Aweil hospital, South Sudan (Mathieu Fortoul/MSF)