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Charity organization says: Millions of children in Horn of Africa could face malnutrition

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FILE PHOTO: A desert locust is seen feeding on a plantation in a grazing land on the outskirt of Dusamareb in Galmudug region, Somalia December 22, 2019. REUTERS/Feisal Omar/File Photo

Millions of children in the greater Horn of African region could experience severe malnutrition as desert locusts, flooding and COVID-19 pandemic worsen food insecurity, an international charity, Save the Children, said on Thursday.

The charity said in a statement issued in Nairobi that a looming second invasion by desert locusts combined with floods that have destroyed crops, and COVID-19 disruptions, might complicate efforts to feed vulnerable children in Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia.

“2020 will be a defining year for a generation of children across the Horn of Africa. COVID-19 comes at a time when children and their families are already dealing with multiple crises that include recurrent climatic shocks, conflict and the locust invasion,” said Yvonne Arunga, Save the Children’s Regional Operations Director for East and Southern Africa.

Nearly 5.2 million children below five years old are already severely malnourished in Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia while about 1.3 million are at risk of starvation, according to humanitarian agencies.

Save the Children said the region will experience a substantial increase in emergency needs for children in the coming months.

According to the global charity, commodity prices have spiked by 2 percent in Somalia while decreased revenue from remittances and tourism across the entire Horn of African region due to COVID-19 pandemic is likely to worsen childhood malnutrition.

The charity said that government-financed desert locust control interventions across the Horn of African region that include personnel training and spraying of pesticides, have been affected by COVID-19 pandemic.

It said that a partnership between governments and humanitarian agencies is key to promoting child-centered nutrition programs like breastfeeding in the region

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