. 24/7 Space News .
CLIMATE SCIENCE
A million children severely malnourished in eastern, southern Africa: UN
by Staff Writers
Johannesburg (AFP) Feb 17, 2016


Nearly one million children across eastern and southern Africa are suffering from "severe acute malnutrition" after two years of drought and the strongest El Nino in 50 years, UNICEF said Wednesday.

Children in the region face worsening food and water shortages, with rising prices exacerbating the situation as families are forced to skip meals and sell belongings.

"Severe acute malnutrition" is defined as extreme hunger, causing a very low weight-for-height ratio, visible wasting or fluid retention.

"The El Nino weather phenomenon will wane, but the cost to children -- many who were already living hand-to-mouth -- will be felt for years to come," said UNICEF regional director Leila Gharagozloo-Pakkala.

"Governments are responding with available resources, but this is an unprecedented situation. Children's survival is dependent on action taken today."

The agency is running humanitarian appeals calling for $87 million for Ethiopia, $26 million for Angola and $15 million for Somalia.

Lesotho, Zimbabwe, and most of South Africa have declared drought emergencies, while in Ethiopia, the number of people in need of food assistance is expected to increase from 10 million to 18 million this year.

Malawi is facing its worst food crisis in nine years, with 2.8 million people (more than 15 percent of the population) at risk of hunger and "severe acute malnutrition" doubling in only two months.

"The statistics are staggering," said Megan Gilgan, UNICEF regional emergency advisor. "The situation is expected to worsen throughout this year and into 2017."

Last month the UN's World Food Programme (WFP) said 14 million people across southern Africa faced going hungry after a prolonged drought wrecked harvests.

The WFP said the cost of maize, also called corn, in Malawi was 73 percent higher than average.

South Africa will import half its average maize crop after 2015 was declared the driest year in more than a century.

In Ethiopia, 435,000 children were said to be in need of treatment for severe acute malnutrition.

"We are dealing with a slow onset crisis affecting countries in different ways," Gilgan said. "The outlook is disturbing, with little or no rain falling in affected areas."

UNICEF said conditions were worse than the 2011 Horn of Africa food crisis that hit Somalia, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Kenya and Uganda.

Apart from hunger, the spread of diarrhoea, cholera and typhoid has also been reported.

Sparked by warming in sea surface temperatures in the equatorial Pacific, El Nino periodically wreaks havoc on world weather patterns, causing drought in some parts and floods in others.


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


.


Related Links
Climate Science News - Modeling, Mitigation Adaptation






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

Previous Report
CLIMATE SCIENCE
Drought caused by El Nino threatening food security in southern Africa: UN
Rome (AFP) Feb 12, 2016
The El Nino weather phenomenon, one of the worst in 50 years, has caused intense drought in southern Africa that will have a "devastating" impact on the region's food security, the UN food agency warned on Friday. Across large parts of Zimbabwe, Malawi, Zambia, South Africa, Mozambique, Botswana, and Madagascar, the rainfall season has so far been the driest in the last 35 years, the UN Food ... read more


CLIMATE SCIENCE
Edgar Mitchell, astronaut who walked on Moon, dead at 85

The forgotten moon landing that paved the way for today's space adventures

ASU satellite selected for NASA Space Launch System's first flight

Lunar Flashlight selected to fly as secondary payload on Exploration Mission-1

CLIMATE SCIENCE
Becoming a Martian

Site of Martian lakes linked to ancient habitable environment

Opportunity climbing steeper slopes to reach science targets

Opportunity Reaches 12 Years on Mars!

CLIMATE SCIENCE
Are private launches changing the rocket equation?

NASA tests solar sail deployment for asteroid-surveying CubeSat NEA Scout

Orion Crew Module processing begins for first mission

Mars or the Moon

CLIMATE SCIENCE
China Conducts Final Tests on Most Powerful Homegrown Rocket

Last Launch for Long March 2F/G

China aims for the Moon with new rockets

China shoots for first landing on far side of the moon

CLIMATE SCIENCE
Putting the Public in the Shoes of Space Station Science

Russians spacewalk to retrieve biological samples

Russia to Deliver Three Advanced Spacesuits to ISS in 2016

Russian spacewalk marks end of ESA's exposed space chemistry

CLIMATE SCIENCE
ULA Launches NROL-45 Payload for the National Reconnaissance Office

SES-9 Launch Targeting Late February

Spaceflight Awarded First GSA Schedule Contract for Satellite Launch Services

SpaceX to carry military payloads as US phases out Russian rocket engines

CLIMATE SCIENCE
Earth-like planets have Earth-like interiors

The frigid Flying Saucer

Astronomers discover largest solar system

Lonely Planet Finds a Mum a Trillion Km Away

CLIMATE SCIENCE
Body temperature triggers newly developed polymer to change shape

Light used to measure the 'big stretch' in spider silk proteins

Making sense of metallic glass

Not your grandfather's house, but maybe it should be









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.