The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has mobilized for millions of children in the 15 countries most affected by food shortages.
In Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Haiti, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Yemen, 8 million children aged 5 and under are at risk of dying from malnutrition. UNICEF announced that it has included these countries in an “acceleration plan” to help prevent the possible explosion in child deaths.
UNICEF drew attention to the urgency of the measures to be taken, stating that 260 thousand more children have reached the level of death risk since the beginning of the year due to the aggravation of the effects of the global food crisis, and this means one child per minute. It was stated that the increasing food prices due to the Ukraine war, the long-term drought due to climate change in many countries and the economic effects of the pandemic played a role in the deepening of the crisis.
Expressing that the 15 countries in question urgently need food and medicine aid, UNICEF called on the G7 leaders to meet in Germany in the coming days.
UNICEF; Germany requested a $1.2 billion aid package from the leaders of the G7, which includes the United States, United Kingdom, France, Italy, Japan and Canada.
DW/CO,JD