The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said 1.3 million children under five suffering from severe acute malnutrition could lose access to treatment over the course of the year – leaving them at heightened risk of death.
UNICEF Deputy Executive Director, Kitty van der Heijden Palais, made the remarks on Ethiopia, Nigeria, and the global funding crisis at the Palais des Nations in Geneva at the weekend.
In recent years, international donors have reduced their contributions to UN agencies, including UNICEF.
The situation worsened when the United States, its largest donor, imposed a 90-day suspension on all foreign aid on the first day of President Donald Trump’s return in January.
This decision, along with subsequent orders halting numerous programmes of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) worldwide, has put life-saving food and medical aid at risk, disrupting global humanitarian relief efforts.
Heijden, according to an online report, said in the last 25 years, there has been significant progress in tackling the global malnutrition crisis for children and since the year 2000, the number of stunted children has decreased by 55 million, or one third.