Nearly 2 million children could die from malnutrition due to a shortage of products used to treat malnutrition, the United Nations Children’s Fund said on Monday.
Four countries – Mali, Nigeria, Niger and Chad – have run out or are on the verge of running out of supplies of nutritious peanut-based products known as ready-to-use therapeutic foods. A further eight countries, including South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda, could run out by mid-2025.
“Urgent action is needed now to save the lives of nearly 2 million children who are battling this silent killer,” Victor Aguayo, director of child nutrition and development at UNICEF, said in a statement. said.
Severe acute malnutrition or wasting can be caused by malnutrition during pregnancy and infancy, limited access to safe drinking water, and relentless attack from multiple infectious diseases.
Children may be stunted and have prominent ribs and other bones, dry skin, and brittle hair. The disease is diagnosed when a person's weight is very low relative to their height (or height in young children). Median upper arm circumference less than 4.5 inches. Or fluid builds up in your legs, arms, or face.
According to the World Health Organization, severe acute malnutrition affects an estimated 19 million children under the age of 5 worldwide and may lead to the deaths of approximately 400,000 children each year.
Severely malnourished children have weaker immune defenses, making them more susceptible to diseases such as diarrhea, pneumonia, malaria and measles that are prevalent in poor countries, especially in crisis zones.
UNICEF relies on ready-to-use therapeutic foods to treat children with severe and debilitating diseases. Other organizations are using similar products to help children in the less severe stages of malnutrition. Children may need food as well as medical care for up to eight weeks before fleeing danger.
UNICEF estimates that around 73 per cent of children in need of food will be fed in 2023, and 1.2 million deaths of children under five will be averted.
But wars, civil wars, climate change and economic crises that have disrupted global supply chains all contribute to the hunger emergency, as do prolonged droughts and floods in Africa’s Sahel region.
Food shortages began in Mali in late July. Chad and Niger are expected to run out by the end of this month, and Cameroon by the end of the year.
Since 2022, UNICEF has raised approximately $933 million to support malnutrition programs. We are currently appealing for a $165 million donation to renew the RUTF supply, in addition to the recent $100 million donation made by the United States.
