Hunger and siege: Africa’s children face catastrophic aid crisis

Millions of children across Africa are facing a life-threatening nutrition crisis as international aid cuts and armed conflict severely disrupt food supplies,several humanitarian organizations have warned.

Humanitarian organizations,including Save the Children and UNICEF,are sounding urgent alarms about the growing number of malnourished children in Nigeria,Kenya,Somalia,South Sudan — and besieged El Fasher in Sudan. Save the Children warns that essential supplies of Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) — a nutrient-rich paste used to treat severe acute malnutrition — are rapidly running out. In Nigeria alone,3.5 million children under five are at risk. In Kenya’s Turkana region,medical staff are already struggling to find enough food to sustain children.

This comes amid the largest funding cuts to humanitarian aid in decades. The United States and other key donors have slashed billions from foreign aid budgets,forcing agencies into what the UN calls “a triage of human survival.” In El Fasher,Sudan,130,000 children remain trapped after 500 days under siege by the Rapid Support Forces.

UNICEF reports that 6,000 children with severe malnutrition lack treatment,while cholera outbreaks and attacks on hospitals are compounding the crisis. Humanitarian leaders stress the consequences are catastrophic and worsening. “Children must be protected at all times,and they must have access to life-saving aid,” said UNICEF Executive Director,Catherine Russell,calling for urgent restoration of funding and access.