Read Also:Unicef calls for action to prevent, treat malnutrition caused by COVID-19
"For countries reeling from the consequences of conflicts, disasters and climate change, COVID-19 has turned a nutrition crisis into an imminent catastrophe," UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore said.
"Families already struggling to feed their children and themselves are now on the brink of famine. We can't let them be the forgotten victims of 2020," she added.
Read Also:Covid-19 pushed Rohingyas towards hunger, malnutrition: Experts
Severe acute malnutrition is the most extreme and visible form of under nutrition. Children with severe acute malnutrition have very low weight for their height and severe muscle wasting. It is a major cause of death in children under five, and its prevention and treatment are critical to child survival and development.
Through 2020, in spite of COVID-19 challenges, UNICEF and its partners continued to deliver lifesaving assistance to the most vulnerable children and their families in the hardest to reach areas through adjustments on the existing programs to maintain and increase access.
Read Also:Bangladesh sees sharp decline in child malnutrition: Survey
With the situation feared to worsen in 2021, UNICEF called on humanitarian actors on the ground in these countries as well as the international community to urgently expand access to and support for nutrition, health and water and sanitation services for children and families.
UNICEF has appealed for more than 1 billion U.S. dollars to support its lifesaving nutrition programs for children in countries affected by humanitarian crises over 2021.