UN warns malnutrition may trigger ‘explosion of child deaths’ in Horn of Africa

GENEVA – Unless the world immediately shifts its total focus away from the war in Ukraine, there will be an explosion of child deaths in the Horn of Africa, a UN official has warned, urging the international community to act immediately.

Rania Dagash, UNICEF’s deputy regional director for Eastern and Southern Africa, spoke at a UN press conference marking World Food Safety Day on June 7.

“If the world does not widen its gaze from the war in Ukraine and act immediately, an explosion of child deaths is about to happen in the Horn of Africa,” she warned.

An estimated 386,000 children in Somalia alone are in desperate need of treatment for life-threatening acute malnutrition, she said, raising concerns about the organization’s efforts being hampered by a lack of funds.

Dagash said she and other officials have already warned that their efforts are severely underfunded.

In five months, the number of children in desperate need of treatment due to malnutrition has increased by more than 15%.

– 1.7M children need urgent treatment for malnutrition

“Across Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia, more than 1.7 million children are in urgent need of treatment for severe acute malnutrition,” said Dagash.

“Four rainy seasons have failed in two years – killing crops and livestock and drying up water sources.”

Unfortunately, she said, UNICEF’s forecast suggests that “the next October rains are likely to fail too, making it the longest drought in history.”

The three East African countries have recorded a significantly higher number of severely malnourished children admitted for treatment in the first quarter of 2022 than in the first quarter of 2021.

Dagash said Somalia used to import 92% of its wheat from Russia and Ukraine. “But supply lines are now blocked, and the war is exacerbating spiraling global food and fuel prices, meaning that many in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia can no longer afford the basic foodstuffs they need to survive.”

Somali families are increasingly unable to cope with soaring food prices as local food has become scarce due to consecutive seasons of poor or failed domestic production, livestock deaths, and imported food prices.

– Ukraine war impacts supply chain

In parts of Somalia, food prices have increased by 140% to 160%, leaving low-income families hungry and destitute, said El-Khidir Daloum, World Food Program (WFP)’s country director in Somalia, at the same press conference.

This is partly because of supply chain disruptions caused by the conflict in Ukraine, he added.

“We must act immediately to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe. The lives of the most vulnerable are already at risk from malnutrition and hunger, and we cannot wait for a declaration of famine to act,” Daloum said.

“It’s a race against time to prevent famine, and WFP is scaling up as much as possible, prioritizing our limited resources to save those most at risk.”

Around 3 million livestock have died due to the drought since mid-2021 in Somalia, and the decline in meat and milk production has also led to worsening malnutrition, particularly among young children in pastoral areas who are dependent on local supply.