The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has warned that Somalia’s child malnutrition crisis is worsening, with nearly 1.9 million children projected to experience malnutrition this year.
UNICEF said on Friday that admissions of children suffering from severe acute malnutrition and related complications have increased by 32 percent, placing further strain on the country’s already fragile health system.
UNICEF spokesperson James Elder said 205 health and nutrition facilities had already stopped operating following unprecedented cuts to humanitarian funding, while as many as 618 facilities could eventually be forced to close across the country.
He warned that the closures were making it increasingly difficult for vulnerable children and their mothers to access urgent medical and nutritional care, particularly in remote communities.
Elder said longer journeys to treatment centres could delay critical medical intervention, leaving children with more severe illnesses and increasing the risk of preventable deaths.
He also urged international donors to maintain funding as Somalia confronts multiple overlapping crises, including severe drought in parts of the north, armed conflict, displacement and rising fuel and fertiliser costs.
According to Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), funding for programmes treating acute malnutrition in parts of Somalia has fallen by more than 80 percent this year after the United States suspended funding and several other Western countries reduced their aid contributions.
UNICEF said the situation was particularly alarming because nearly 1.9 million children are expected to be affected by malnutrition this year, including almost 500,000 suffering from severe acute malnutrition, the most life-threatening form of the condition.
The agency warned that continued funding shortfalls could lead to further closures of health and nutrition facilities, restricting access to lifesaving treatment and deepening Somalia’s humanitarian crisis.
Goodness Anunobi
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