1999 Photo Contest, General News, 2nd prize
Photographer

Tom Stoddart

Independent Photographers Group

01 January, 1998

Late rains meant poor harvests for those who had managed to plant grain. Most people were entirely reliant on international aid. For 15 years Sudan has been gripped by civil war between the Muslim government in the north and the animist and Christian people of the south. More than a million have had to flee their homes in southern Sudan. Famine has resulted as refugees are unable to settle and produce their own food. The region around the village of Ajiep, inhabited by the Dinka tribe, was one of the worst hit. Thousands flocked to food centers set up in the village by UNICEF and Médecins Sans Frontières. Only children below 60 per cent of their ideal body weight were admitted. More than 100 people died a day at Ajiep.

About the photographer

Tom Stoddart

In 1978 he moved to London and began working freelance for publications such as the Sunday Times and Time Magazine. During a long and varied career he has witnessed such interna...

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