The United Nations on Thursday launched a “before it’s too late” appeal to raise funds to help 30 million severely malnourished children in countries affected by the food crisis.
Five UN agencies confirmed in a joint statement that “more than 30 million children in the 15 most affected countries suffer from wasting – acute malnutrition – and eight million of these children suffer from severe wasting, the most fatal form of undernutrition.”
The skyrocketing food prices exacerbate food shortages and impede access to affordable basic foodstuffs. Conflicts, climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic have exacerbated the situation, according to those agencies.
“This situation is likely to deteriorate further in 2023,” warned Qu Dongyu, Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
UN agencies are calling for increased investments to support their efforts to meet the “unprecedented needs arising from this growing crisis, before it is too late”.
Agencies seek to prevent, detect and treat severe acute malnutrition in children by working on the fronts of food, health, water and hygiene and social protection systems. Donyo stressed the need to ensure that healthy food is “available, accessible and affordable”.
The action plan will include children under the age of five, pregnant and lactating women, and mothers and caregivers of children under five.
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