Rome (Fides Service) - Save the Children, an independent international organisation for the protection and promotion of children’s rights, has sounded the alarm for the situation in the Darfur region of Sudan where ethnic violence in the past 15 months has forced thousands of children and their families to abandon their homes. The situation could deteriorate as a result of heavy seasonal rains, which have started earlier than usual this year.
The rain will make it more difficult to distribute food and aid in general. There is also a serious risk of outbreaks of malaria, measles and cholera. To try to prevent a crisis Save the Children has already supplied tents and temporary refuge for 16,000 families, it is also helping the World Food Programme to distribute food to over 284,000 homeless people and supply medical assistance and clean water. (AP) (23/6/2004 Agenzia Fides; Righe:16; Parole:169)