UNICEF raises red alert, 10m children risk severe drought, acute hunger, malnutrition in Africa

The UN children’s agency, UNICEF, has raised a red alert that the number of children at the risk of severe drought in Africa has increased by over 40 per cent in two months. The international agency disclosed that the number of children facing the impact of drought, including acute hunger, malnutrition, and thirst, increased from 7.25 million to at least 10 million between February and April this year.

UNICEF, therefore, reviewed its emergency appeal from 119 million dollars to nearly 250 million dollars to reflect the growing need across the African continent.

UNICEF highlighted that over 1.7 million children in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia require urgent treatment for severe acute malnutrition.

The agency cautioned that if rains fell in the coming weeks, the number of children that would require urgent treatment for severe acute malnutrition in the three countries would rise to two million.

Mohamed Fall, UNICEF’s regional director for eastern and southern Africa had stated: “If we don’t act now, we will see an avalanche of child deaths in a matter of weeks.

“Famine is just around the corner.”