World Vision Launches ‘Enough’ Campaign to Combat Child Hunger

By Madrama James

King News, Sept 25^th, 2024. On Wednesday, Vice President Rebecca Nyandeng De Mabior launched the “Enough Campaign” to tackle child hunger and malnutrition in schools at Dr. John Garang Primary School in Juba.

Speaking at the event, Rebecca Nyandeng De Mabior, called for collective responsibility in ending child hunger.

“As we launch this campaign today, I want us all to remember that ending child hunger is not just a duty. It is a responsibility that we all share. To my dear children here today, I invite you to come home and visit my farm. All that I was talking to you are there. I have goats, I have sheep, I have cows, I produce 200-300 litters of milk every day in my compound. And I have kitchen garden that I want you to see. 

The launch was attended by key stakeholders, including the Minister of Gender, Child, and Social, the Country Director for World Vision South Sudan, the Archbishop of Northern Bhar El Ghazal internal province, government officials, donors’ representatives, and various non-governmental organizations, who attended the launch.

For her part, Aya Benjamin Warile, Minister of Gender, Child and Social Welfare, stated that, key stakeholders have developed policies to mitigate children hunger nationwide.

 

“We are concerned about the welfare of every child in this country, and we developed policies together with the Ministry of General Education and Health on how we can manage nutrition in this country. We are many Ministries that are stakeholders in this, including agriculture. So, we need programs that will provide feeding for children, who are healthy, but also those who have already gone into malnutrition.”   

While global attention is focused on wars in Europe and the Middle East, Dr. Mesfin Loha, Country Director for World Vision South Sudan, warned children under the age of five could experience high levels of food insecurity in 2024.

“Globally as we know, child hunger has been at it’s worse for generations. Here in South Sudan, over 5.8 million people experience high level of food insecurity, and more than 1.6 million children under five years of age are expected to suffer from malnutrition in 2024 alone.”

During his opening remark, Bishop Moses Deng Bol, Archbishop of Northern Bhar El Ghazal internal province appeals to the National Government to prioritize agriculture in order to produce adequate food in the country.

“Jesus grows in stature, for a child to grow in stature, he or she need to have an adequate food and balance diet as well as physical exercise. As a church, we are requesting our government to prioritize agriculture, and to provide enough food for children and their community.”

According to research, millions of parents are struggling to provide nutritious and diverse food that young children need to reach their full potential. The rise across the flood and conflict-affected areas of South Sudan, with some communities likely to face starvation if humanitarian assistance is not sustained.

Dorance Cooper, World Vision South Sudan is inviting partners to join and weigh the fight against hunger and malnutrition in South Sudan.

“World Vision invites you all today to join this fight against hunger and malnutrition so that we can work towards a world where every child of South Sudan has enough nourishing food so that they can strive.”

Simon Mayor, Headteacher of Dr. John Garang commend the school feeding programs. According Mayor, the food initiative has retained pupils in his school and have increased the total enrollment for this year’s academic calendar.

“What is keeping these pupils is the little food brought to us by the organizations. Its entertaining them from leaving school earlier to home. They stay around to attend to their lesions. Last year, the total enrollment of pupils in our school was very low indeed. Last year, I registered 1,100 pupils. But when food was introduced this year, now I have 1,431 pupils. It has increased by 331 pupils because of the food initiative.”

Flora Leila Jackson, member of Victory women group for soap making, applauded the business initiative rendered to the women. Flora said soap production has made their children free from skin disease and other bacteria.

“Enough to skin diseases, soap has finally come, this kill germs, our children are now clean and thanks.”

During the launch event, Achan Chan, World Food Program Representative, emphasized the critical link between nutrition and education, stating, children will focus better in class, and achieve more academically.

“Together with our partners, we are able to assist over 1.5 million women and children through our nutrition programs and over 360,000 through school meals. School meals is really critical for ensuring children’s education, for it has impact on their attendance, on retention and on educational outcomes.”  

With the launch generating both national and international attention, stakeholders are optimistic that the initiative will pave the way for a broader conservation about food security and children’s rights, ultimately leading to sustainable solutions that benefit all sectors of society.