UNICEF estimates that by the beginning of 2022, 1 child per minute will enter acute malnutrition.
Monsignor Joji Vadakara, Vatican City
The United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, has announced that the effects of malnutrition among children, which are affecting the entire world, are increasing. UNICEF Director General Catherine Russell said in a statement on July 19 that in the 15 most affected countries alone, more than 8 million children under the age of five may die of severe malnutrition if they do not receive immediate treatment and food.
Catherine Russell explained in her statement that these children who are suffering from severe malnutrition cannot be saved with regular food and they need special food prepared for their medical needs.
Economic hardships created by the Covid pandemic, ongoing wars in Ukraine and many other parts of the world, severe droughts caused by climate change are putting children’s lives at grave risk.
In addition to malnutrition, the lack of access to vaccines against childhood diseases is threatening the survival of children around the world, UNICEF said.