Children Facing Severe Malnourishment in Horn of Africa

06 July 2011

UNICEF Africa Food Crisis Appeal – www.unicef.org.nz/africa-food-crisis

As the humanitarian emergency in the Horn of Africa continues to worsen, UNICEF (UN Children’s Fund) has warned that it expects 480,000 severely malnourished children in Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia this year - about 50% more than in 2009. Climate change and conflict are key factors in one of the worst humanitarian disasters ever.

In the south of Somalia, which is amongst the worst affected areas and where humanitarian assistance has been the most restricted, at least one in three children is severely malnourished. Conditions are the worst they have been in a decade, the children’s agency warned. In Ethiopia, almost half of the children arriving at refugee camps are malnourished.

Recent months have been the driest for 60 years in parts of East Africa, leaving pastures barren, water sources dry and livestock starving. Droughts and conflict are causing tens of thousands of families to cross from Somalis to Kenya and Ethiopia each month, placing further strain on already overstretched refugee camps.

“More than 10 million people across the Horn of Africa are in dire need of humanitarian assistance,” said Dennis McKinlay, Executive Director, UNICEF NZ. “UNICEF continues to provide emergency nutrition and support in the refugee camps, but we urgently need more money for this lifesaving work.

“In Somalia where UNICEF is the largest provider of supplies and expertise for nutrition, $10m (USD) is needed for the next month alone while Kenya and Ethiopia each are in need of $3 million to $4 million (USD). This need is only going to increase and without urgent funding many more children will die of hunger”.

In drought affected areas of Kenya, monthly admissions for the treatment of severe malnutrition are 78 per cent higher than last year. In the Turkana district of Kenya, global acute malnutrition rates are the highest ever recorded in the district, at 37.4 per cent.

At therapeutic feeding centres in refugee camps in Kenya there have been more deaths among Somali children in the first quarter of 2011 than in all of last year. The camps are extremely overcrowded, and the basics – safe water, sanitation, food and shelter – are inadequate.

UNICEF is providing 100% of therapeutic feeding in Kenya through funding of partners and technical support, and is working with UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) to scale up assistance to children in refugee camps in Kenya Ethiopia.

In the most affected areas of Ethiopia, UNICEF has distributed food to almost 34,000 severely malnourished children, and ensured access to water and sanitation for over 280,000 people. In South Somalia, UNICEF and its partners are also providing basic health care services to nearly 900,000 people, and provided water and sanitation to over a million.

UNICEF NZ urgently needs funds to reach malnourished children in North Africa. For only $15 you could help feed a malnourished child for a week. Please donate now at www.unicef.org.nz/africa-food-crisis

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