3m kids face malnutrition

2008-09-05 13:52

Nairobi - At least three million children are at risk of death, disease and malnutrition in the Horn of Africa as aid fails to flow, the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) said on Friday.

More then 14 million people in Ethiopia, Somalia, Eritrea, Kenya, Uganda and Djibouti are critically affected, and the numbers are "on an alarming upward trajectory", Unicef said.

"Strong national leadership is needed at this critical juncture, and more international funding must be quickly mobilised," Unicef's Regional Director for East and Southern Africa Per Engebak said in a statement.

"The risks to children and their families are immense and we are running out of time to reverse them," he continued.

Ethiopia and Somalia are the two worst hit countries.

Drought in Ethiopia, combined with rising food and fuel prices, has put 4.6 million people at risk, with 75 000 children in need of therapeutic feeding.

Unicef said new estimates were soon expected for Ethiopia and the fear was that the numbers would surge.

Somalia has suffered the same problems, exacerbated by a bloody ongoing insurgency that has forced almost one million civilians to flee the capital Mogadishu since the beginning of 2006.

The latest report by the UN's Food Security Analysis Unit (FSAU) said the number of Somalis in urgent need of food and other humanitarian assistance has reached 3.2 million, an increase of 77% from beginning of the year.

The figure represents 43% of the Somali population.

Poor security, with insurgents targeting humanitarian workers for murder and kidnap and pirates marauding off the coast, is complicating the delivery of aid.

However, Engebak said that despite such risks the aid response must be stepped up.

"If concerted actions and funding are not forthcoming, this crisis could have irreversible effects on the people of the Horn and push any prospect of progress towards the Millennium Development Goals far beyond reach of their countries," he said. - Sapa-dpa

- SAPA