{"id":5454,"date":"2022-12-25T11:16:00","date_gmt":"2022-12-25T02:16:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inpsjapan.com\/en\/?p=5454"},"modified":"2023-12-22T11:18:53","modified_gmt":"2023-12-22T02:18:53","slug":"more-than-20-million-children-suffering-in-the-horn-of-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inpsjapan.com\/en\/sdgs\/more-than-20-million-children-suffering-in-the-horn-of-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"More Than 20 Million Children Suffering in The Horn of Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

UNICEF Warns of Funding Shortfall in The Face of Drought<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Devendra Kamarajan<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NAIROBI (IDN) \u2014 UN Children\u2019s Agency UNICEF<\/a> has urged the international community to \u201ccommit to responding now for what might hit the Horn of Africa\u201d in 2023, \u201cand in the years to come\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

UNICEF<\/a> Deputy Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa Lieke van de Weil said on December 22: \u201cWe need a global effort to mobilize resources urgently to reduce further devastating and irreversible damage to children in the Horn of Africa. We must act now to save children\u2019s lives, preserve their dignity and protect their futures.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2022, UNICEF and partners reached nearly two million children and women with essential life-saving health care services, vaccinated almost two million children between the ages of 6 months and 15 years against measles, and provided safe water for more than 2.7 million people for drinking, cooking, and personal hygiene.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

UNICEF\u2019s 2023 emergency appeal of US$759 million to provide life-saving support to children and their families will require timely and flexible funding support, especially in the areas of education, water and sanitation, and child protection, which were severely underfunded during UNICEF\u2019s 2022 response.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An additional US$690 million is required to support long-term investments to help children and their families to recover and adapt to climate change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to UNICEF, the United Nations International Children\u2019s Emergency Fund, the number of children suffering dire drought conditions across Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia has more than doubled in five months, according to<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Around 20.2 million children are now facing the threat of severe hunger, thirst and disease, compared to 10 million in July, as climate change, conflict, global inflation and grain shortages devastate the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhile collective and accelerated efforts have mitigated some of the worst impact of what had been feared, children in the Horn of Africa are still facing the most severe drought in more than two generations,\u201d UNICEF Deputy Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa, van de Weil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHumanitarian assistance must be continued to save lives and build the resilience of the staggering number of children and families who are being pushed to the edge\u2014dying from hunger and disease and being displaced in search of food, water and pasture for their livestock.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nearly two million children across Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia are currently estimated to require urgent treatment for severe acute malnutrition, the deadliest form of hunger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition, across Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia:<\/p>\n\n\n\n