JUBA, May 30 (Xinhua) -- The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) on Tuesday expressed concern about dramatic spike in the movement of South Sudanese into Sudan since January.
IFRC said the vast majority of new arrivals are women and children fleeing violence and the looming threat of famine in the world's youngest nation.
"The people who are arriving are in a desperate state. Most are in poor health, exhausted from their journeys, and traumatized by what they have seen and experienced," Fatoumata Nafo-Traore, IFRC's Regional Director for Africa, said in a statement.
About 137,000 South Sudanese have crossed into Sudan since Jan. 1 -- already more than the 131,000 that arrived during 2016, according to UNHCR.
The charity said some 417,000 South Sudanese refugees have entered Sudan since December 2013, adding that over half are in camps in East and South Darfur and West and South Kordofan.
The Sudanese Red Crescent Society (SSRC) is present in these areas and has, in partnership with the UN, been supporting more than 300,000 with food aid, and about 90,000 refugees with clean water, sanitation and health services.
"These people are the most vulnerable -- children and women -- who are arriving with absolutely nothing, having already endured so much," Nafo-Traore said.
However, with the increased arrival of refuges, IFRC and SSRC are warning of an elevated risk of diseases such as malaria, as existing healthcare and water and sanitation services come under ever greater strain.
"The regional consequences of the humanitarian emergency in South Sudan are rapidly worsening. There is every indication that the number of people crossing into Sudan will continue to climb," Nafo-Traore said.
