RRome, 27 Oct. (askanews) – The British actor Liam Neeson, Goodwill Ambassador for Unicef, was in South Sudan last week. A six-day mission in which, among other things, she met mothers of children suffering from severe malnutrition and heard stories about the importance of life-saving treatment services.
Liam Neeson in South Sudan
“I was deeply saddened to see so many malnourished children – said the actor after visiting the reference hospital in the capital Juba – they are disturbingly silent when they should be laughing, sleeping when they should be playingthey cry when they should smile.”With treatment centers closing across the country, I wonder what will become of those children“he added.
The trip, the United Nations Children’s Fund reports, was organized to see the effects of economic shocks, climate change and poverty on children’s lives, especially after global cuts in official development assistance.
South Sudan, the humanitarian crisis
In South Sudan – recalls the UN agency – 2.3 million children are currently at risk of malnutrition serious and almost half of them risk dying without immediate treatment. That’s a 10.5% increase over last year. Across the country, funding cuts have already led to the closure of 186 nutritional care centers, leaving mothers and young children without essential services.
During the mission, Neeson also met young men and women forced to marry as children or recruited into gangswho shared their stories of poverty and difficult childhoods. In South Sudan – according to Unicef – i50% of girls are at risk of early marriage and 75% of girls and women will experience violence gender over the course of one’s life.
“Liam Neeson’s mission occurred at a critical time when we desperately need to shine a light and bring attention to the children of this young nationwho is only 14 years old,” said Noala Skinner, UNICEF representative in South Sudan. “Against a backdrop of declining foreign aid which has had a profound impact on children’s services here, UNICEF is grateful to the donors and partners who continue to support the children of South Sudan and the programs we have seen this week. Now more than ever we need sustained investment in children, through increased domestic resources, continued foreign aid and access for all children, wherever they are.”
Neeson’s mission came at a time when many governments around the world are reducing foreign aid. Unicef – which expects a minimum 20% drop in revenue over the next four years – warns that these cuts put young people’s lives and futures at risk.
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