Hounde, Jul 28: Coronavirus and its restrictions are pushing already hungry communities over the edge, killing an estimated 10,000 more young children a month as meager farms are cut off from markets and villages are isolated from food and medical aid, the United Nations warned Monday.
In the call to action shared with The Associated Press ahead of publication, four UN agencies warned that growing malnutrition would have long-term consequences, transforming individual tragedies into a generational catastrophe.
Hunger is already stalking Haboue Solange Boue, an infant from Burkina Faso who lost half her former body weight of 5.5 pounds (2.5 kilograms) in just a month. Coronavirus restrictions closed the markets, and her family sold fewer vegetables. Her mother was too malnourished to nurse.
“My child,” Danssanin Lanizou whispered, choking back tears as she unwrapped a blanket to reveal her baby's protruding ribs.
More than 550,000 additional children each month are being struck by what is called wasting, according to the UN — malnutrition that manifests in spindly limbs and distended bellies. Over a year, that's up 6.7 million from last year's total of 47 million. Wasting and stunting can permanently damage children physically and mentally.
“The food security effects of the COVID crisis are going to reflect many years from now,” said Dr. Francesco Branca, the WHO head of nutrition. “There is going to be a societal effect.”
From Latin America to South Asia to sub-Saharan Africa, more poor families than ever are staring down a future without enough food.
In April, World Food Program head David Beasley warned that the coronavirus economy would cause global famines “of biblical proportions” this year. There are different stages of what is known as food insecurity; famine is officially declared when, along with other measures, 30% of the population suffers from wasting.
The World Food Program estimated in February that one Venezuelan in three was already going hungry, as inflation rendered salaries nearly worthless and forced millions to flee abroad. Then the virus arrived.
“Every day we receive a malnourished child,” said Dr. Francisco Nieto, who works in a hospital in the border state of Tachira.
In May, Nieto recalled, after two months of quarantine, 18-month-old twins arrived with bodies bloated from malnutrition. The children's mother was jobless and living with her own mother. She told the doctor she fed them only a simple drink made with boiled bananas.
“Not even a cracker? Some chicken?” he asked.
“Nothing,” the children's grandmother responded. By the time the doctor saw them, it was too late: One boy died eight days later.
The leaders of four international agencies — the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the World Food Program and the Food and Agriculture Organization — have called for at least dollar 2.4 billion immediately to address global hunger.
But even more than lack of money, restrictions on movement have prevented families from seeking treatment, said Victor Aguayo, the head of UNICEF's nutrition program.
“By having schools closed, by having primary health care services disrupted, by having nutritional programs dysfunctional, we are also creating harm,” Aguayo said. He cited as an example the near-global suspension of Vitamin A supplements, which are a crucial way to bolster developing immune systems.
In Afghanistan, movement restrictions prevent families from bringing their malnourished children to hospitals for food and aid just when they need it most. The Indira Gandhi hospital in the capital, Kabul, has seen only three or four malnourished children, said specialist Nematullah Amiri. Last year, there were 10 times as many.
Because the children don't come in, there's no way to know for certain the scale of the problem, but a recent study by Johns Hopkins University indicated an additional 13,000 Afghans younger than 5 could die.
Afghanistan is now in a red zone of hunger, with severe childhood malnutrition spiking from 690,000 in January to 780,000 — a 13% increase, according to UNICEF.
In Yemen, restrictions on movement have blocked aid distribution, along with the stalling of salaries and price hikes. The Arab world's poorest country is suffering further from a fall in remittances and a drop in funding from humanitarian agencies.
Yemen is now on the brink of famine, according to the Famine Early Warning Systems Network, which uses surveys, satellite data and weather mapping to pinpoint places most in need.
Some of the worst hunger still occurs in sub-Saharan Africa. In Sudan, 9.6 million people live from one meal to the next — a 65% increase from the same time last year.
Lockdowns across Sudanese provinces, as around the world, have dried up work and incomes for millions. With inflation hitting 136%, prices for basic goods have more than tripled.
“It has never been easy but now we are starving, eating grass, weeds, just plants from the earth,” said Ibrahim Youssef, director of the Kalma camp for internally displaced people in war-ravaged south Darfur.
Adam Haroun, an official in the Krinding camp in west Darfur, recorded nine deaths linked with malnutrition, otherwise a rare occurrence, over the past two months — five newborns and four older adults, he said.
Before the pandemic and lockdown, the Abdullah family ate three meals a day, sometimes with bread, or they'd add butter to porridge. Now they are down to just one meal of “millet porridge” — water mixed with grain. Zakaria Yehia Abdullah, a farmer now at Krinding, said the hunger is showing “in my children's faces.”
“I don't have the basics I need to survive,” said the 67-year-old, who who hasn't worked the fields since April. “That means the 10 people counting on me can't survive either.”
Comments
RIKAZ,
Already done, i have done my computer course.
And what do you think, how i am replying to you, its through computer.
Satyameva jayate.
You have a sick mind. Just read what you have written.
I dont think you will understand anything if i reply.
If you are so concerned about kashmir or china, pls go ahead and do it yourself dont give advise to others.
PONDER, have u read properly, now here it is,
Rigveda 10/85/13- cows are slaughterd.. is misconception. The actual meaning is The word used for sun-rays is \GO\" which also means cow and hence a mantra can also be translated by making 'COW\" and not sun-rays as subject.the word WEAKENED is \"Hanyate\" which can also mean killing. The mantra states the rays get weakened in winter and get strong again in spring. How can cow that get killed in winter gain strength in spring. This proves that the reader of the vedas should have good intelligence and wisdom to understand. Otherwise people will misunderstand just like you did. Same for all other points you mentioned."
SURESH U need to do some homework, not to reply but to UNDERSTAND... please go thru below verses from your scriptures specially the last one.
Maharishi Yagyavalkya says in Shapath Brahmin (3/1/2/21) that : I EAT BEEF cos it is very soft and delicious.
Apastamb Grihsutram (1/3/10) says : The COW should be slaughtered on the arrival of Guest, on the occasion of Shraddha of ancestors and on the occasion of Marriage.
RIGVEDA (10/85/13) declares On the occasion of a girl's marriage Oxen and COWS are Slaughtered
RIGVED (6/17/1) STATES the INDRA used to EAT the meat of COW, calf, horse and buffalo.
Vashista Dharmasutra (11/34) writes, If a BRAHMIN refuses to EAT a meat offered to him on the occasion of SHRADDHA or worship HE GOES to HELL>
Suresh, you need to learn some logic.....I suggest you to join some computer programming course....
Suresh........how many cows you have at home...as per your comments also send some cows to borders of Kashmir and China...some to clean gangas and others RSS bhakta to bring go moorhra to wash their sick minds......
Which century are you living in......and where did you get your GO history from...
Rikaz,
What i have mentioned one full paragraph is fact.
what you are saying is called illusion (maya)
You will never understand that.
Just like a blind cannot see the world around him, same way you cannot understand Maya (illusion) ignorance. You have to rise high from Kg class teaching.
Mr. Suresh, its a fact man, you like it or not....I know very well that you know it...but you don't want to admit it.....right....
Rikaz,
Your are a really a funny man and your comments are so immatured.
I dont understand, Whats is wrong and what is supersition.
I am not supporting the beating of people, its wrong,
I was just giving the importance of cow for Hindus.
Suresh, you are still believing in superstition in this 21st century, so sad!
Tell us how many houses have been ruined because of your theory...none...
All rivers were flowing in same place....no body done anything for it....its natures creation.....totally rubbish....
cow is a kind of animals....its not a god...it cannot save itself from any disaster....you and your own people don't care them at all, you will find a lot of them in the road sides like orphans...no one put any grass on it....instead it eats plastic and sometime later dies....reason you don't care them and don't put any food for it....common its your god man treat it nicely....
Once Gautam Maharishi was meditating and a holy cow maya denu entered his abode and started spoiling the rice in his farm. Knowing cow shall not be treated harshly he put the Darba grass on the cow and to his surprise the cow fell dead. The other rishis present said that Gautam maharishi has done a Gau hatya a grave sin. To atone the sin of Go hatya, (killing a sacred cow), he went to Nasik & did severe Tapas to lord Shiva at Trimbakeshwar on advise of other rishis. When lord shiva was pleased with his Tapas, Gautam rishi requested lord shiva to release him from the sin by making the river Ganga flow over the dead cow. Thus Lord shiva diverted the river Ganga to flow over the cow. Thus River Go-davari was born in Nashik and merge with bay of bengal.
Cow is so holy that, if you build your house on the plot of land where cows put their holy feet for grazing, or where there was a cow shed, building a house in such a plot is very very auspicious.
After a house in built the first day of house warming cermony a holy cow is first made to enter the house in this way all the evil and negative energy in the newly built house is cleared off.
If a person is suffering badly in health or work front they are advised to feed cows, by doing this the creator is satisfied and he relieves the person from his sufferings.
Cow- urine or Go-mutra is so auspicious that if you sprinkle it on the possessed people, or inauspicious places where there is negative energies accumulated, the place becomes pure and positive again.
1857 first war of Independence broke out - cow was the reason.
This cow story made citizens sick and tired....there is no god in cow or any animal kind....what the hell these vigilantes doing around....if dalits want to live peacefully they should convert to Islam....that is where they get their due respect from society....In Islam there wont be any upper caste and lower caste....they will be treated properly with respect in the society....
Its a BIG INSULT to the PM ...
Cheddi gangs ignored .... him badly.
The PM should show his power to stop it rather than saying killing me before killing the dalits...
He said, Fake Gau Rakshaks are dividing the nation,
Then what the real Gau Rakshaks are doing??????
He further says, \Hit me and do not hit Dalits\", means he can not control those who want to HIT????
Why is he concerned about Dalits when other communities also have been terrorized by so called Gau Rakshaks? Others are not humans or Indians? Or he is only concerned about \"Vote Bank\"???"
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