Forty-nine children under five years of age died of malaria in the UN’s Bentiu base in recent weeks as cases of the disease skyrocket in South Sudan, UNICEF said.
The child welfare agency said malaria was the leading cause of death in South Sudan over the past two weeks with thirty out of 79 counties reporting caseloads exceeding the epidemic threshold.
There were 26,333 malaria cases in the handful of UN camps where some 200,000 civilians are collectively sheltering from the war. That caseload represents a 32% jump from the previous two week period, according to UNICEF figures.
Two thirds of those malaria cases were in the Bentiu camp in northern Unity state, where over 100,000 people have taken refuge.
17 children died in Bentiu two weeks ago from malaria and other causes, according to UNICEF. The group did not provide child mortality figures for last week. Subtracting 17 from the total of 49 malaria deaths indicates over 32 children died in the camp last week, making it one of the deadliest weeks of the year among young children seeking safety there.
Aid groups are spraying pesticides in the Bentiu camp to kill mosquito larvae, UNICEF said.
Update, 30/10/2015 13:23: UNICEF tells Radio Tamazuj: “In Bentiu, 24 deaths were reported [last week]; among these 11 were children under-five year with under-five mortality rate 0.64 per 10,000 populations per a day. 5 (45.4%) deaths in children under-five years were attributed to malaria.”