UNICEF: Nearly 2 million children with severe wasting face life-threatening condition

A UNICEF report shows that due to conflicts, economic shocks and climate crises, the incidence of severe wasting among children under five years old remains high in some countries.

UNICEF Director of Nutrition and Child Development Aguayo said that over the past two years, the global community has united to address malnutrition, successfully expanded the scale of nutrition projects, and effectively curbed the rise in child wasting and related mortality. However, urgent action must now be taken to save children facing the threat of death.

Shortage of ready-to-use therapeutic foods

Therapeutic ready-to-use food is a high-energy, micronutrient-rich paste food mainly made of peanuts, sugar, milk powder, oil, vitamins and minerals.

The report points out that the shortage of funds for the supply of therapeutic ready-to-eat foods has put nearly 2 million children in the 12 most affected countries at risk of not receiving treatment. In particular, the Sahel region of Africa has long been affected by drought, floods and unstable rainfall, exacerbating food shortages and rising food prices, further pushing up the incidence of childhood wasting.

Mali, Nigeria, Niger and Chad are already facing or will soon face shortages of ready-to-use therapeutic foods, while Cameroon, Pakistan, Sudan, Madagascar, South Sudan, Kenya, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda will also run out of supplies by mid-2025.

Aguayo stressed that UNICEF has repeatedly warned that without sustainable prevention strategies and long-term funding, many countries will face a shortage of ready-to-use therapeutic foods, especially in the Sahel region. Now, this warning has become a reality.

Urgent call for action

To respond to this serious situation, UNICEF launched the “No Time to Lose” Initiative 2024 Update and Urgent Action Call, seeking to raise US$165 million to provide treatment and care services for 2 million children at risk of death.

Since the launch of the “No Time to Wait” acceleration plan in 2022, UNICEF has raised more than US$ 900 million to strengthen early prevention, detection and treatment services for childhood wasting. During this period, UNICEF has provided early prevention services to 21.5 million children and women and saved 5.6 million children with severe wasting.

At the same time, in order to solve the problem of child malnutrition in the long term, UNICEF launched the Child Nutrition Fund last year, which aims to support local production of fortified foods, complementary foods and therapeutic ready-to-eat foods in areas with high incidence of severe wasting, thereby avoiding global supply chain disruptions, reducing the environmental impact of transportation, and promoting local employment and economic growth.