Serious waste: An overlooked child survival emergencydetails that about one-fifth of all deaths in children under the age of five, can be attributed to severe exhaustion.
Caused by shortages of nutritious food and repeated episodes of illness – such as diarrhea, measles and malaria – that weaken a child’s immunity.
“Young children are anorexic, rapidly losing a lot of body weight, often aggravated by episodes of infectious diarrhea, until they become thin and sick, looking like bonesl,” UNICEF Chief Catherine Russell explained in the preface to the report.
‘Extremely painful’
Unlike starvation or starvation, relatively little is heard of severe emaciation, although it affects around 13.6 million children globally under the age of 5 and is one of the leading causes of malnutrition. leading cause of preventable death in young children.
“It is extremely painful for the child whose body is struggling with the illness. Without life-saving treatments, it’s a battle many people lose,” Ms. Russell attests. She also noted that Conflicts and the climate crisis, which deprives them of access to healthy diets, are “driving that number up.”“.
Nutrition saves lives
But even in stable countries, child wasting has increased by more than 40%.
In Uganda, for example, child wasting has increased by 61% since 2016.
The head of UNICEF explained: “When a child is this low-weight and frail, they cannot eat and drink normally, which means that traditional food aid – like bags of wheat or soybeans – cannot save them.
This children need to be saved, ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF), a high-calorie nut used as a medical treatment, can literally mean the difference between life and death.
Despite its simple effectiveness and affordability, amid a sharp decline in nutrition financing, some 10 million children are desperate to receive RUTF largely due to the ongoing economic shock. COVID-19.
Ukraine War
Meanwhile, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, both of which are among the world’s top producers and exporters of agricultural products, has blocked supply routes and impacted global food security, even It also threatens many children to go to waste.
The United Nations Food Authority suggests that Prolonged reductions in food exports could increase the number of undernourished people globally from 8 to 13 million by 2022 and 2023..
Furthermore, food, fuel and fertilizer shortages, plus inflationary pressures, are driving prices up.
UNICEF source:
Joint UNICEF/WHO/World Bank Group estimates of malnutrition (JME).
‘Global Child Alert’
And even RUTF therapy is not immune. The price of this effective treatment is expected to increase 16% over the next six months.
