Millions of Children in Middle East, North Africa Face Malnutriton as Ukraine War Continues: UNICEF

Amman: Six weeks into the war in Ukraine, the fragile nutritional status of children in the Middle East and North Africa is expected to worsen, UNICEF has said.
 
While Muslims in the region observe the holy month of Ramadan, disruption in imports caused by the conflict is creating food shortages amid high prices of essential commodities, including wheat, edible oils, and fuel. 
 
If this continues, it will severely impact children, especially in Egypt, Lebanon, Libya, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

Some are hunger hotspots according to recent assessments undertaken prior to the Ukraine crisis, as those countries were already struggling with conflicts, economic crises, or a sharp increase in global food prices in 2021.
 
"With ongoing conflicts, political instability, the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, the region is witnessing unprecedented hikes in food prices coupled with low purchasing power. The number of malnourished children is likely to drastically increase," said Adele Khodr, UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa in a media release on Thursday.
 
The impact of the continuing war in Ukraine is compounding the impacts of two long years of the COVID-19 pandemic on economies, employment and poverty in the MENA region, where more than 90 per cent of food is imported.
 
In Yemen, 45 per cent of children are stunted and over 86 per cent have anaemia. In Sudan, 13.6 per cent of children suffer from wasting, 36.4 per cent are stunted and nearly half have anaemia. In Lebanon, 94 per cent of young children are not receiving the diets they need, while over 40 per cent of women and children under the age of five have anaemia. In Syria, only one in four young children gets the diets they need to grow healthy.
 
"UNICEF continues to coordinate the nutrition response in the region. We call to consolidate efforts to urgently deliver and scale up prevention, early detection and treatment of malnutrition to address the needs of millions of children and women, especially in countries most impacted by crises. This is critical to prevent a massive malnutrition crisis for children in the region," added Khodr.

 
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