When hunger kills, every child is our Concern

Watching the horrifying news from home, the people of Ireland remembered an Gorta Mór – The Great Hunger – and were determined to stop history from being repeated. 

Over the past 58 years, this compassion and generosity has helped us respond to emergencies and disasters, and develop life-saving new ways to combat hunger. But tragically, today, more than 300 million people around the world are facing acute food insecurity, and onternational aid cuts are making matters even worse. 

Right now, one of the places worst affected by this hunger crisis is Sudan. Years of devastating drought have destroyed crops and livestock, leading to a critical lack of food. Now, three years of ongoing conflict and violence means access to farmland and water has become even more dangerous, and millions of families have been forced from their homes. Even after escaping Sudan, people like Khadidja* and her daughter, Yassira* are still fighting for survival. 

Khadidja and her six children are among the four million people forced to flee Sudan after conflict came to their village. They found shelter in the Zabout refugee camp in Chad, and Khadidja worked long, gruelling hours in the blazing sun on a farm to scrape together money so she could feed her children. However, her small income was not enough to provide enough nutritious food for her family. 

When we met Khadidja and her seven-month-old daughter Yassira at a health and nutrition clinic we support in the refugee camp, Yassira was severely underweight and was diagnosed with acute malnutrition. 

Thankfully, health workers immediately put Yassira on a course of emergency therapeutic food. This calorie-rich and nutrient-dense peanut paste helps children gain weight and rebuild their strength, and put little Yassira on the road to recovery. 

With your support, we can provide thousands of children like Yassira with this life-saving therapeutic food. 

*Names have been changed for security