Some limited supplies have arrived in recent weeks, including medical supplies that Doctors Without Borders was able to transport, but the quantities remain far too low to meet the needs of people suffering from malnutrition in Zamzam camp, which has a population of approximately 450,000.
The crisis has attracted broader international attention as the IPC Famine Review Committee concluded in August that a famine was underway in Zamzam camp. Doctors Without Borders' own malnutrition assessments found that 30 percent of children were malnourished in multiple surveys earlier this year, estimating that a child was dying of causes linked to malnutrition every two hours on average. As the current crisis also limits Doctors Without Borders' ability to collect new data, the current rate of death among children is not known.
"In the last few days, we've seen some positive signs, with trucks arriving after months of almost complete blockade around the camp. However, these quantities are insufficient," Lacharité said. "These are positive signs, and we can see that the parties to the conflict recognize the seriousness of the situation and are starting to let trucks arrive.”
“If we are to have a massive response, the aid agencies will also have to significantly step up their efforts and all diplomatic stakeholders negotiating with the parties to the conflict will have to convince them to ensure that this delivery continues over the coming months."
For example, providing a month's worth of emergency food rations (i.e. around 500 calories a day per person) to the 450,000 people in Zamzam represents around 2,000 tons of rations. It would take 100 lorries a month to deliver them.
