The British “Save Children” organization said that 4 African countries are facing the risk of depleting therapeutic foods allocated to children with severe malnutrition, during the next three months, in light of a major reduction in international humanitarian aid.
The organization said, in a statement issued on Thursday, that the stocks of ready -made therapeutic food for use, including the subsidized energy biscuits and the “Plambi Nate” mixture made of peanuts, used to treat acute malnutrition in children, are about to exist in both Nigeria, Kenya, Somalia and South Sudan.
A severe financing deficiency
“The financing that can save the lives of children has been reduced at a time when the world is witnessing an unprecedented escalation in hunger rates,” said Yvonne Araonga, the organization’s regional director in East and South Africa.
Although the statement did not mention the donors by name, previous media reports stated that the administration of US President Donald Trump has reduced this year the volume of humanitarian aid, within the framework of what is known as “America First” policy, which calls for reducing external spending and holding other countries a greater part of responsibility.
In May, Reuters revealed that about 66,000 tons of food, including 1100 tons of subsidized biscuits, remained stuck in US depots for several months due to the delay in financing, before Washington later agreed to hand over 600 tons of them to the United Nations World Food Program, while about 500 tons were destroyed after its expiration.
Field situation deteriorating
In Kenya, where it is estimated that about 2.8 million people have suffered from severe food insecurity during the rainy season between March and May last May, it is expected that therapeutic food stocks will run by October.
In Nigeria, Somalia and South Sudan, the organization expected these materials to run within 3 months, threatening the lives of thousands of children who depend on them to stay.
There was no official comment from the governments of the four countries until the moment the report was published.
Widespread
According to the “Save Children” organization, reducing global financing will lead to depriving about 15.6 million people in 18 countries of diet this year, including 2.3 million children with acute malnutrition.
In an attempt to partially remedy the crisis, the US State Department announced earlier this month to allocate $ 93 million to provide therapeutic foods for more than 800,000 children in 13 countries, including Nigeria, South Sudan, Kenya and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
These developments come at a time when warnings are increasing of the exacerbation of humanitarian crises in Africa, amid severe climate changes, internal conflicts and a decline in the size of international aid, which puts millions of children in the face of the risk of starvation.