Unicef: 13.6 million children suffer from severe malnutrition

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warns that 13.6 million children under five years of age suffer from severe acute malnutrition or severe wasting worldwide. Cases increase, he says, in war zones and where the devastating effects of climate change are already being felt.

A recent report highlights that one in five deaths of children under five years of age occurs due to severe wasting. It is a preventable disease, caused by the lack of nutritious food and repeated attacks of diseases such as diarrhea, measles and malaria, which compromise the child’s immunity.

He adds that malnutrition is not only on the rise in countries facing humanitarian crises. There are nations in relatively stable regions that have seen a 40 percent or more increase in child wasting since 2016.

He states that despite the magnitude of the problem, Relatively modest investments in the treatment of severe wasting could lead to exponential reductions in child deaths..

It ensures that with only 300 million dollars of additional financing – 0.1 percent of the total international development aid spent in a year – it would be possible to reach all children in need, since in 2020, around 5 million infants received treatment with cost-effective, ready-to-use therapeutic foods, which were effective in saving lives.

The above is urgent, since a child with severe malnutrition is up to 11 times more likely than a healthy child to die from common childhood diseases such as pneumonia, which is the leading cause of death from infection among children worldwide.

The United Nations agency highlights that although a quarter of children suffering from severe wasting live in emergency contexts, this condition primarily attacks the youngest children in the most neglected areas, both rural and urban.

He recalled that nine out of 10 of the children receiving treatment are in emergency situations, although three quarters of children suffering from severe wasting live in contexts considered stable.

The differences in the channeling of aid, explains Unicef, are due to the fact that minors who are in emergency situations are at greatest risk of death, especially displaced and destitute children who are more exposed to disease than others.