The numbers in the report 'Una hunger to die for. Old and new challenges in the fight against malnutrition ', for this reason Save the Children launches the global campaign' Until the last child 'through a solidarity sms 45544 active from 12 October to 5 November.
Don't store avocado like this: it's dangerousAround the world every year 3 million children are dying of hunger. The alarm is raised by a new report from Save the Children, which shows that 52 million minors under the age of 5 are currently suffering from sudden shortages of food and nutrients, while 155 million are chronically malnourished.
The numbers in the report 'Una hunger to die for. Old and new challenges in the fight against malnutrition ', that's why Save the Children launches the global campaign 'Until the last child' through a solidarity sms 45544 active from 12 October to 5 November.
“It is simply unacceptable that so many children still lose their lives from being affected by the malnutrition, a silent but preventable killer. They thus become children without a tomorrow, very often simply because they were born in the wrong place, in very poor contexts or hit by severe crises ”, declared Claudio Tesauro, president of Save the Children.
According to the report, poverty, climate change and conflicts play a fundamental role. In middle and low-income countries, 2 out of 5 minors live in a state of poverty with severe deprivation of access to food, sanitation and education, while in the Horn of Africa and Kenya, following the 'El Niño climate emergency, 7 million children they are still struggling with water and nutrient shortages.
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Children and climate change
Quasi 20 million people in the Horn of Africa they are suffering the effects of a severe food crisis following the serious El Niño emergency, considered the worst crisis linked to climate change in the last 35 years.
Globally, extreme climate change should intensify, it is estimated that over 592 million people could be at risk of malnutrition in 2030 and nearly 477 million in 2050.
Children in war zones
Of the 815 million people undernourished worldwide, more than half (489 million) live in conflict-affected countries, where the rate of chronic malnutrition is estimated to decline at a rate 4 times lower than in non-crisis countries and where poverty rates are on average more than 20 percentage points.
In these areas, according to the report, children have the double the possibilities to become malnourished and die in childhood compared to their peers in other developing countries.
In Yemen, where about 17 million people - equal to 60% of the population - are in a state of food insecurity, already before the crisis about half of children under the age of 5 were suffering from malnutrition and 1 woman in 370 died from complications during pregnancy and childbirth while from 2014 to 2016 the worsening of the conflict caused a 20% increase in infant deaths.
“Today, more than ever, the time has come to say enough. Enough of the loss of so many lives among children that could easily be saved and protected. Enough of so many broken, denied and compromised childhoods. It is therefore essential that the world strengthens its commitment and does even more to effectively tackle malnutrition. Because a world that turns to face even a single child turns to its own future, ”he said Valerio Neri, general manager of Save the Children.
Poor countries
Clearly, children born in poverty contexts are the most exposed to the risk of malnutrition and serious deprivation of a health and educational nature. Save the children explains that in 103 low- and middle-income countries 689 million children are considered multidimensional poor.
Among the elements that affect child poverty is also access to education and training, from which 263 million children and adolescents around the world are still excluded.
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In Sub-Saharan Africa, just under half of the population living in rural areas (43%) has access to drinking water sources, while only 1 in 5 people have access to sanitation, both considered essential elements in the fight against malnutrition. In Central and South Asia, the percentage of the population in rural areas with access to sanitation is 40%.
Dominella Trunfio
Foto: Save the Children
