Due to the combined effects of desert locusts, climate change and the secondary impact of COVID-19, the number of children to be treated for severe acute malnutrition in 2020 alone will rise by 24pc, according to UNICEF. The humanitarian target will, therefore, rise from the 460,000 initially planned, which includes 16,000 refugee children, to 570,000 children, of which 18,400 are refugee children. This represents 110,000 more children that need to be treated for malnutrition. In the next three months, a rise of this magnitude will undoubtedly trigger a spike in child mortality, as children with severe acute malnutrition are more vulnerable and likely to die from infectious diseases, such as measles and malaria. Humanitarian agencies require immediate support of 2.4 billion dollars to treat malnutrition and improve maternal and child health caused by the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Of this number, 80pc are from Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.
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