The warning was issued by the United Nations Children’s Fund-UNICEF, which said that extreme malnutrition among children under 5 is increasing due to conflict and war, economic shocks and climate disasters in many countries. remains too high for.
dire situation
Lack of nutritious and safe food in the diet leads to this condition of very severe malnutrition and frequent diseases such as diarrhea, smallpox and malaria.
Children with the condition become extremely weak and thin, their weakened immune systems make them vulnerable to age-related stunting, and in some cases can eventually lead to death.
EUTF is a concentrated nutritional supplement made from a mixture of milk powder, peanuts, butter, vegetable oil, sugar and various vitamins and minerals.
This dose has saved millions of severely malnourished children from dying.
“Thanks to the tremendous global response over the past two years, nutrition programs have scaled up to end child malnutrition and prevent associated deaths,” said Victor Aguayo, UNICEF’s director of child nutrition and development.
“These are done in countries that are deeply affected by war and conflict, climate and economic shocks, resulting in maternal and child nutrition crises.”
“But action is needed now to save the lives of the nearly two million children battling this silent killer,” said Victor Aguayo.
Food stores are running out
UNICEF says that due to the lack of RUTF doses, children in the 12 worst-affected countries are already at risk of not receiving treatment.
In Mali, Nigeria, Niger and Chad, stocks of this special food have already run out or are about to run out, while in Cameroon, Pakistan, Sudan, Madagascar, South Sudan, Kenya, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda, stocks of this food will run out by mid-2025. will go
In Africa’s Sahel region, the situation is worsening due to chronic drought, floods and rare rains. This is leading to food shortages, skyrocketing food prices and ultimately extremely high levels of malnutrition.
In Mali, for example, nearly 300,000 children under 5 are at risk of severe malnutrition this year, but nutrition programs are expected to run out of special food stocks by the end of July.
Meanwhile, the government of Chad declared a food and nutrition emergency in February (2024), with nearly 5 million children under 5 at risk of severe malnutrition this year.
There is no time left
UNICEF has issued an appeal to raise $165 million to provide special food, treatment and care to two million children facing severe malnutrition. These children are at risk of death.
The initiative, which provides special food support to children facing the condition, was launched in 2022. UNICEF has since raised $900 million.
With the help of this money, essential services have been provided to approximately 2.15 million children and women, while 4.6 million children have been helped before the situation becomes critical. About 56 lakh children have been provided with life-saving treatment.
Child Nutrition Fund
UNICEF is launching a Child Nutrition Fund (CNF) in 2023 to tackle chronic malnutrition among children, supported by the UK Foreign and Development Office, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Child Investment Fund.
The Fund’s goals include promoting the production of appropriate and specialized food and nutrients to prevent severe malnutrition.