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.”
Mr Basha went to Saudi Arabia 14 months ago. In a video message sent to his friends on WhatsApp, he has alleged that his employer had not paid him so far. The video has gone viral.
Comments
Kotiaan brothers did not see the carrot saffron shakes video of aseemanada and Nithyananda rapes....ha ha...he loves Arab porn...like all sangheez even watch in Parliament....
Piece loving nation ..haha. ..I also saw the video where Arab milk shakes raping indian women maids from Hyderabad ..
Dear Satya Vishwas...
U are right but what We muslims need to Present the TRUE message of ISLAM to the public as well as the cheddis .. cos they are carrying in their mind the ISLAM which is taught by the Cheddis.. which is dumping them deep into darkness (hate, jealousy, crime, looting, lies and etc) as well as the society.
So we should educate whatever way to spread the real msg of ISLAM to the cheddis as well as the non muslims ...
When we present the true message atleast few may reflect who are honest.. in their hearts. ALLAH guides those who are honest in looking for God.
Why CD readers bother about this Phycho person;(Phycho Viren) this man must be admitted Kankanady hospital for his brain wash in Vande dot CLOREX muthram.
dear all CD readers : please do not react , or comment to viren kotian just neglect him,BECAUSE HE IS DEPLOYED by RSS to ignite and provoke minorities, so if we react to his inhumane comments he and his dirty mind followers enjoy it.And they are successful in their mission, and also he get highlighted , so why to give him unnecessary (un) popularity.
REMEMBER THAT IF YOU THROW A STONE AT LOOSE SHIT (VIREN) IT SPREADS ALL OVER .
so lets not waste our valuable time by arguing with the inhuman viren.
Viren Kotian , seeing your comments i understand that a deluded understanding is giving such a buncombe, please understand such swaggering appears unarmed for a rational discussion.
kindly refrain
Vande matram means cheddis bow down to the mother land...
What islam says
ALLAH is the lord of all that exists, U me and all that is in between the earth and the skies..
We Muslims bow down to ALLAH alone and nothing else , Even not to our respected prophets or our mother who gave birth to us...
We love our prophets,
We love our mother
We love our mother land
but we will never worship our mother land...
ALLAH created us and We bow down to him alone.. Please dont ask me to bow down to the motherland which is also a creation of ALLAH...
ALLAH forgives every sin with true repentance but associating partners with him is the biggest SIN... which is a way to hell and Please dont drag us Muslims to that destination... Sorry I believe ALLAH as my lord, Muhammad pbuh and all the prophets as my messenger and Islam as my religion....
Please VIREN when U worship the mother land, U actually denying the TRUE GOD ... I request U to look who is our CREATOR which VEDAS also mentions \NA TASYA PRATIMA ASTI\" there is no image of GOD...
IF you are honest in looking for the CREATOR , God will Guide U ... Atleast make some effort to look for the creator of all that exists.. Dont just worship the man made creations and animals and live a life unaware.. QURAN challenges mankind to bring a book like it... Please go thru it."
No one can become patriot just saying vande matram, this is crazy....we Muslims cannot do that...its against our religion...but in fact we will fight for our country without any hesitation.....and save country from our enemies.....
Hello joker Viren......a lot of bharat maa ki jai sons are also living happily with their family's in Muslim countries and they respect and are thankful to those people. Some goons like you will let Islamic nations kick them out of there.......you sick-minded will let people hate each other...saffron pillas....why don't modi offer job and respect to the people who say jai jai and are still working in Islamic nations.......u don't belong to a democratic nation.......go to your country Nepal....ha haa
Viren Kotian, how could you say, the person who doesn't sing Vande Mataram is not be Indian!!!
You must know its not our National Anthem and its an individual personal choice.
I don't understand why CD post such nonsense Viren Kotian comments!!
Viren, I think you don't have any knowledge of our Indian constitution!!
Bharat Mata har ek Hindustani ki hai, aur Akbar ek hindustani hai, apne desh se madad maang raha hai, samajh is baat ko. and
don't ever bring communal things in humanity!!!
Mr. Kotian why so much hatred on muslim relegion, we are human beings, remember that.. we are indians here we don't treat each other as HINDU's or MUSLIM's.. Try to be peace lover My Dear Friend..
Bharath kisi ke baap ka nahi. The slogan made purely illogic for any religion including hindus which is against the holy scriptures. Will you and your millions of hindu brothers say La ilaha illallah mohammedurrasulullah while entering in arab countries to earn their bread and butter.
Dear viper kotian if u sing vande maataram r u getting 15 lac from your govt? Then why u r singing r u mad?
Viren kotian.
Its haraam to say vande mataram according to vedas. Hindu is not a religion. Arabs gave the word hindu. U should be thankful to arabs.
Rama couldnt save his own wife sita from kidnap. How can he save u.
Ask any pandit. He will runaway from u.
The religion is sanatan dharm. Nowadays nobody knows a single word of it.
Habeebi viren, dont worry we will try to help him out.. If you are not sleeping then try to see the problems of those who sing vande mataram and still not came out of it. I doubt the govt helps them.
Indian govt should help this guy.
Viren - stop talking nonsense ( as usual )
What is Indian embassy doing around.....they got a lot money of expatriates collected during passport renewal time....millions of them...couldn't they use part of it to get this person come out of his ordeal...
You are not ready to sing 'vande mataram' but when you get stranded in a Muslim country you need bharat maatha's hindu govt's help. Funny people.
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