By; AMOS TAUNA, Kaduna
About 181 million children under five years of age, representing 27 per cent of the world’s youngest population live in severe food poverty, a recent report by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), has revealed.
The report noted that the condition is defined as consuming nothing in a day or at most, two out of eight recognised food groups.
According to the report, in northern Nigeria, a 38-year-old Dorcas Simon struggles to breastfeed her 9-month-old twins, who cry incessantly due to hunger.
The report further explained, “Not much milk comes out, she said while trying to conceal her pain with a laugh. What will I give them when I don’t have food myself?”
Africa, with a population exceeding 1.3 billion, according to the report is one of the hardest-hit regions due to conflict, climate crises, and rising food prices, saying that the continent accounts for one-third of the global burden, with 13 of the 20 most affected countries. However, there have been signs of progress.
In West and Central Africa, the report explained that the percentage of children living in severe food poverty dropped from 42% to 32% over the past decade, due to efforts like diversified crop cultivation and performance-based incentives for health workers.
UNICEF warned that without vital nutrients, children are more susceptible to wasting, a life-threatening form of malnutrition, stressing that one of the report’s authors, Harriet Torlesse stated, stated that when wasting becomes very severe, they are 12 times more likely to die.
It stated that in Nigerian communities like Kaltungo, UNICEF trains thousands of women to improve their families’ nutrient intake with crops like cassava, sweet potato, maize, and millet, pointing out that theõ crops can be grown in sand-filled sacks requiring minimal water.
