Fighting Malnutrition to Save Lives

Famine crisis in Somalia

The Horn of Africa is experiencing the worst drought in 60 years. In Somalia, famine has been declared in multiple regions — areas where 10% of the children under five die every 3 months. Severe malnutrition rates are the reality in neighboring Kenya and Ethiopia, where thousands of families are arriving daily to escape violence and starvation in Somalia.
The current situation represents the most severe humanitarian crisis in the world today and Africa's worst food security crisis since Somalia's famine twenty years ago.

A silent killer

Somalia is not the only place where children are starving.
Malnutrition is the underlying cause of more than 1/3 of all childhood deaths. Prices for basic food like rice, maize, wheat, oil, sugar and salt are skyrocketing, forcing millions of the world's poorest children into severe malnourishment and starvation.
In much of the world, children with full bellies are still lacking the nutrients and vitamins they need to grow to their full potential.  A malnourished child is less able to fight off illness, less likely to get the most out of schooling, and often becomes physically and mentally stunted. Malnutrition keeps children trapped in the cycle of poverty.

You can help

UNICEF depends on the generosity of donors to support child nutrition. Whether through an emergency feeding program during a disaster or famine or an established community clinic offering education and support to young mothers, UNICEF is committed to preventing and treating child malnutrition around the globe, helping every child get the nutrition needed for a healthy and promising future.

Related Nutrition and Food Security Links

April 3, 2012

Racing to provide lifesaving supplies to one million children in the Sahel

Over 15 million people in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, and Senegal are directly affected by the food and nutrition crisis ravaging through the Sahel region. UNICEF is launching a massive fundraising campaign to help the one million children in danger of dying from severe acute malnutrition. UNICEF estimates that it needs $120 million to provide children lifesaving treatment and protection from severe acute malnutrition. Only 32% of that need has been met so far.

March 5, 2012

Children in Chad face life-threatening malnutrition

Experts and government officials are calling attention to the emerging food crisis in West and Central Africa’s Sahel region. Due to failed rains and poor harvests most families in Chad, one of eight countries in Sahel, have been unable to grow enough or earn enough to feed themselves. With 62% of Chadians living below the international poverty line this has the makings of a life-threatening crisis for thousands of families, and for children in particular, who are most vulnerable to the devastating health complications linked to malnutrition.

February 26, 2012

Food shortages force children to drop out of school in Niger

Food insecurity caused by drought is interrupting the education of children in Niger. With not enough to eat, school is quickly becoming an afterthought for many Nigerien children. Lack of energy, displacement, and the search for food all play a role in keeping children from their educational development. The situation could become even more precarious. UNICEF is working with partners to provide emergency school feeding, construct classrooms for displaced children and expand school capacity in host communities, among other interventions.