By Oluwaseun Sonde
United Nations International Children Fund (UNICEF) has estimated that at least 10 million children are affected by drought in Horn of Africa right now, while across Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia, more than 1.7 million children are suffering from severe wasting, as they required urgent therapeutic care to save their lives.
The Executive Director, Catherine Russell who made this known at the Annual session of UNICEF Executive Board meeting on Tuesday in New York, US, said when Covid pandemic is rolling back, a violent onslaught that has created worst humanitarian crises in Europe since World War II, the Ukraine war against Russia began, only in 100 days, two thirds of Ukrainian children displaced, hundreds killed and injured.
"In a further example of how cascading crises are increasing risks to the most vulnerable children, the war in Ukraine has driven up prices for food staples, as well as the therapeutic food that can the save the lives of severely malnourished children like those suffering right now in the Horn of Africa.
"Only immediate and collective action can avert catastrophe for these children. During my visit to the region, I addressed the High-Level Roundtable on the drought remotely from a hospital in Gode, Ethiopia, where UNICEF and our partners are working against time to help children survive", she said.
The ED understood the pressure of different emergencies, but said the UNICEF cannot their backs on children in the Horn of Africa. "We are all seeing the challenges to children grow. We cannot pretend otherwise. The evidence is clear. We need to act. UNICEF was created to respond in complex situations, to give priority to the children, families in greatest need and to help realize the rights of every child.
"We do this because it is the most sacred duty of every generation to nurture the next generation. We do this because every child is equally precious, equally deserving of the chance to make the most of their lives. And we do this because it is the surest way to secure a more peaceful, prosperous, sustainable future for everyone".
She added that it is the vision that created this organization, and it is the vision that will sustain the Agency in this rapidly changing world. "And our work has never been more important. Seven years ago, the nations of the world committed to building more peaceful, prosperous, sustainable future for everyone, everywhere, leaving no one behind.
"The pandemic upended our progress toward reaching the Sustainable Development Goals. Our recovery has been inequitable, with higher income countries better able to support their populations, while lower income countries struggle not only with the impact of COVID-19 but other urgent crises", Russell said.
The ED noted that the best way to achieve the SDGs is by making children the top priority. "In fact, there is no other way. "How can we hope to rescue SDG 1. No Poverty without addressing the 100 million additional children who have fallen into poverty since 2020? We need to invest in social protection programmes to help families cover income losses and cope in times of crisis.
"How can we meet SDG 2 , Zero Hunger, without taking urgent action to reach the more than 13 million children under the age of 5 who suffer from severe wasting, and to prevent malnutrition in the first place? We could reach virtually every child in danger of severe acute malnutrition this year with just $300 million in additional funding, 0.1 per cent of total official development assistance spent in a year".
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