APA-Lilongwe (Malawi) The UN has increased its humanitarian appeal for Malawi by 67 percent amid revelations that the southern African country is experiencing a surge in malnutrition among under five-year olds.
UNICEF country representative Gianfranco Rotigliano said the humanitarian needs of Malawi have ballooned since the last appeal in February due to the devastation caused by Tropical Cyclone Freddy in March that left over 659,000 people internally displaced, compounded by “preventable disease outbreaks, economic instability and chronic underfunding in the social sectors.”
“Children in Malawi are at the sharp end of the global polycrisis. Food insecurity, exasperated by a growing climate crisis, disease outbreaks and the global economic downturn, is threatening to wreak havoc and disrupt the lives of millions of children,” Rotigliano said.
At least 573,000 children under five are at risk of suffering from malnutrition in Malawi, the UNICEF chief warned.
“The prospect of having over half a million children suffering from malnutrition is unacceptable. Without an immediate response, the impact on these vulnerable children will be deadly.”
In 2023 alone, it is estimated that over 62,000 children, aged between 6 and 59 months, are at risk of severe acute malnutrition or wasting, he added.
Malawi is also in the throes of an ongoing cholera outbreak that has claimed over 1,759 lives since February 2022.
To respond to the urgent needs of the children – who are among 6.5 million Malawians requiring humanitarian support this year – UNICEF on Friday increased its appeal for Malawi from US$52.4 million to US$87.7 million.
The funding would go towards meeting priority needs such as ready-to-use therapeutic food for treating severe acute malnutrition as well as provision of safe drinking water, sanitation, hygiene items, health, nutrition, education, child protection services and cash transfer schemes.
JN/APA