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| Some 5 million children under 5 years old face acute malnutrition in 2023 in the core region of the Horn of Africa. (Source: wfp) |
UN humanitarian agencies say climate change, armed conflict, high food prices and the economic downturn following the Covid-19 pandemic have caused food insecurity in the Horn of Africa.
"It is estimated that around 5 million children under the age of 5 will face acute malnutrition by 2023 in the core Horn of Africa. The figure for the whole region is around 10.4 million, which is a staggering number," said Liesbeth Aelbrecht, the World Health Organization's (WHO) emergency manager for the Horn of Africa.
UN humanitarian agencies, in a joint statement on June 27, warned that climate concerns are key to food security in the coming months.
Forecasts indicate that El Nino weather patterns have emerged and will intensify for the rest of the year, which could result in above-average rainfall during the October-December rainy season across eastern parts of the Horn of Africa, including much of Kenya, the Somali region of Ethiopia and Somalia.
According to UN figures, these 60 million severely food insecure people include more than 15 million women of reproductive age, 5.6 million adolescent girls and nearly 1.1 million pregnant women, of whom nearly 360,000 are expected to give birth in the next three months.
Malnutrition in pregnant and lactating mothers puts unborn and breastfeeding children at risk of malnutrition, with lifelong effects, the United Nations says. Malnourished mothers are also less able to cope with complications during pregnancy, putting them at greater risk of losing their babies.
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