New York: Child malnutrition rates have reached their highest level in three years in the strife-torn Darfur region of Sudan, according to a joint survey carried out by the government and the United Nations, which is leading what is currently the largest relief effort in the world aimed at assisting some 4.2 million people.

The overall malnutrition rate among children under five in Darfur reached 16.1 per cent this year, compared to 12.9 per cent last year, surpassing for the first time since 2004 the emergency threshold of 15 per cent.

The food security and nutrition assessment carried out in August and September by the UN World Food Programme (WFP), FAO and UNICEF, along with the Sudanese Government also reveals that a larger proportion of children aged 6-29 months are malnourished than children aged 30-59 months.

Moreover, malnutrition is highest in North Darfur - over 20 per cent - compared to other parts of the region. Among the contributing factors cited in the report are poor feeding practices, inadequate sanitation, low health coverage, and low coverage of special feeding programmes.

Continuing insecurity is also a primary cause, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), which noted that access to those in need has been compromised in the course of this year by fighting, particularly violence against civilians and aid workers, with attacks directed at the latter having risen 150 per cent this year.

Over 13,000 humanitarian workers are deployed in Darfur, including staff from 13 UN agencies, the Red Cross/Red Crescent societies and some 80 international non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

Source : PTI