In South Sudan, thousands have been killed and more than a million people displaced in political and ethnic fighting since December. The fighting has left nearly 7 million at risk of hunger and 3.7 million facing starvation, according to the United Nations.
The IRC’s Peter Biro traveled to Ganyliel, a town in northern Unity State, where thousands of people have fled the fighting—and have been reduced to eating water lilies, roots and grass to survive. “Over 40 percent of children under age 5 that we are screening are severely malnourished,” said John Kwenda, who oversees an IRC-run health center in Ganyliel.