from EMEKA OKONKWO in Abuja, Nigeria
Nigeria Bureau
ABUJA, (CAJ News) – AT least four African countries are projected to run out of ready-to-use emergency food over the next three months if gaps resulting from funding cuts are not plugged.
This is putting severely malnourished children at risk of dying.
Affected countries are Kenya, Nigeria, Somalia and South Sudan.
Across Nigeria, an estimated 3,5 million children under five are experiencing severe acute malnutrition.
The country needs at least 629 000 cartons of ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF).
In Kenya, about 105 000 cartons of RUTF are needed to treat severely malnourished children through to the end of 2025. However, about 79 000 – or 77 percent of the needs – have been met and stocks are expected to run out this October.
In Somalia, close to 1,8 million children – or nearly half of all children under five – are at risk of malnutrition.
In South Sudan, the number of children under the age of five experiencing acute malnutrition has increased this year by 10,5 percent to 2,3 million, while about 714,000 children are at risk of severe acute malnutrition.
Yvonne Arunga, Save the Children’s Regional Director for East and Southern Africa, said, “At a time when global hunger is skyrocketing, the funding that could save children’s lives has been cut because of recent aid cuts, leading to a global shortage of RUTF.”
The collapse in nutrition funding globally has been predicted to cut off treatment for 15,6 million people across 18 countries including over 2,3 million severely malnourished children in 2025 and predicted to continue to deteriorate in 2026.
-CAJ News