300,000 children in Southern Africa threatened by severe acute malnutrition

By Deborah Castellano Lubov

In 2024, almost 300,000 children are threatened by severe acute malnutrition in six drought-affected countries in Southern Africa, reported the UN Children's Fund, UNICEF, in a July 25 statement.

Increasing food insecurity and malnutrition, challenges in accessing safe water and sanitation, as well as risks to disease outbreaks such as cholera, UNICEF deplores, are "a serious threat."

7.4 Million in child food poverty

"Thousands of children are on the brink of being irreversibly impacted in their health and growth," it decries, "because of the climate-related crisis and this warning should not go unheard by the international community.”

In Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, UNICEF highlights, 7.4 million children are living in child food poverty, of which over 2 million are surviving on extremely poor diets that include at most two food groups.

This is now exacerbated, the entity notes, across large parts of Southern Africa due to drought, which has caused communities to lose crops and livestock due to lack of pasture and water.

El Niño-related weather conditions, including extremely low rainfall, they explain, have resulted in Lesotho becoming the latest country to declare a state of national food disaster. This declaration follows similar ones made by Botswana, Malawi, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, which say this weather phenomenon is creating great humanitarian needs for children.

Impact of climate shocks

Climate shocks in Southern Africa, UNICEF cautions, are dramatically impacting vulnerable children by dramatically lowering the quantity, diversity, and quality of available food, disrupting access to clean and safe water, and exposing children to life-threatening childhood diseases including diarrhea.

“Through innovative collaboration, ideas and financing that include community engagement such as the mother-led care groups in Zimbabwe and the large-scale multi-sectoral nutrition programme in Zambia," the UN Children's Fund suggests, "we can ensure children and families are supported by sustainable efforts that protect them from some of the severe consequences of climate crises in the region."

Essential frameworks

The UN entity calls for investment and innovation in building family and societal resilience, noting that "frameworks that stay fit for future purpose, including diverse food systems, clean water, sanitation services, climate-informed education, and climate-responsive health care, must be prioritized."

Moreover, UNICEF appeals for safeguarding key services and systems for children, "to ensure quality and uninterrupted access.”