Economic Shocks Drive Child Hunger, Malnutrition – UNICEF
Economic shocks are driving up child hunger and severe malnutrition, a survey conducted by the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) has shown.
According to the poll, other factors also driving up child hunger and causing severe malnutrition around the world include conflict and climate change.
The poll conducted on UNICEF’s official LinkedIn page and concluded on Friday had 8,957 participants voted to express their opinion.
It shows that seven per cent of the respondents voted that economic shocks as worsening child hunger and malnutrition. While 10 per cent of the participants ticked conflict, five per cent voted climate change as exacerbating the sorrow situation.
The World Bank has forecast global economic growth to slump from 5.7 per cent in 2021 to 2.9 per cent in 2022— significantly lower than 4.1 per cent that was anticipated in January.
It is expected to hover around that pace over 2023-24, as the war in Ukraine disrupts activity, investment, and trade in the near term, pent-up demand fades, and fiscal and monetary policy accommodation is withdrawn, the international body added.
Meanwhile, a total of 78 per cent of the respondents voted all the three factors as compounding child hunger and malnutrition.
“The world is sliding backwards in efforts to protect vulnerable children from huge and severe malnutrition.
“A new United Nations report explains why, and what the world must do now to save lives,” Unicef stated to give a background to the poll.
Commenting on the poll, the Deputy Programme Officer at Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), Eva Mwagonah, added that child hunger and severe malnutrition are also driven by poor governance.
While this is a fundamental issue around the world, Nigeria seems not to be on track to end child hunger and malnutrition by 2030.
The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has set a target to ending hunger by 2030 in its GOAL 2 agenda.
According to UNICEF, Nigeria has the second highest burden of stunted children in the world, with a national prevalence rate of 32 per cent of children under five.
“An estimated two million children in Nigeria suffer from severe acute malnutrition (SAM), but only two out of every 10 children affected is currently reached with treatment,” says UNICEF, adding that seven per cent of women of childbearing age also suffer from acute malnutrition.
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