The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has on Wednesday said an estimated 10.4 million children in seven countries including Nigeria suffer acute malnutrition in 2021. This was made known in a statement, saying there are concerns over the health of the projected children in Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Sudan, South Sudan, Yemen, and the Republic of the Congo (DRV). “As 2021 approaches, UNICEF is deeply concerned for the health and well-being of 10.4 million children projected to suffer from acute malnutrition next year in those countries,” the statement said.
According to UNICEF, the ongoing security challenges in DRC in addition to the COVID-19 pandemic will attribute to about 3.3 million children under age 5 suffering from malnutrition, while over 800,000 children in Northeast Nigeria will be affected with 300,000 projected to be at risk of death.
About 1.4 million children expected to be affected by acute malnutrition in South Sudan due to inadequate welfare, health care, water, and hygiene as well as ongoing insecurity.
UNICEF also noted that currently, 2 million children in Yemen are suffering from acute malnutrition with a projected increase in 2021.
