Somalia facing child malnutrition deaths 'on a scale not seen in half a century': UN

By Mohammed Dhaysane

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AA) – Drought-ravaged Somalia could soon see “the death of children on a scale not seen in half a century,” the UN warned on Tuesday, calling for greater action and funding from the international community.

“Today in Somalia, every single minute of every single day, a child is admitted to a health facility for treatment of severe acute malnutrition,” James Elder, a UNICEF spokesperson, said at a news briefing in Geneva.

“The latest admission rates from August show 44,000 children admitted with severe acute malnutrition. That is a child per minute.”

With severely malnourished children up to 11 times more likely to die of diarrhea and measles, he warned that Somalia “is on the brink of a tragedy at a scale not seen in decades.”

“In a country where access to the most vulnerable is continually hampered by terrorism and threats to aid workers, we fear many thousands more children are not reaching the support they need,” said Elder.

He said the current situation in Somalia is worse than the 2011 famine that claimed some 260,000 lives.

“In 2011, after three failed rains, the affected population was half of what it is now, and the overall conditions – rain and harvest – were on the mend,” he explained.

“Today, it’s been four failed rains; the forecast for the fifth rains is looking pretty grim, and the affected population is twice the size of 2011. Things are bad and every sign indicates that they are going to get worse.”

He said “funding challenges” continue to hinder the emergency response in Somalia.

“Long-term funding is part of the critical change needed to prevent famine from happening, again, and again. For instance, UNICEF’s three-year appeal to help families and their communities build resilience in the Horn of Africa region is currently just 3% funded,” he said.

“Without greater action and investment, we are facing the death of children on a scale not seen in half a century.”