Over 100,000 Children In Tigray Risk Dying From Malnutrition In Next 12 Months - UNICEF

Over 100,000 Children in Tigray Risk Dying From Malnutrition in Next 12 Months - UNICEF

More than 100,000 children in Ethiopia's Tigray region face the risk of suffering severe acute malnutrition during the next year, representing a tenfold increase from the average annual number, UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) spokesperson Marixie Mercado said in a press briefing on Friday

UNITED NATIONS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 30th July, 2021) More than 100,000 children in Ethiopia's Tigray region face the risk of suffering severe acute malnutrition during the next year, representing a tenfold increase from the average annual number, UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) spokesperson Marixie Mercado said in a press briefing on Friday.

"UNICEF estimates that over 100,000 children in Tigray could suffer from life-threatening severe acute malnutrition (SAM) in the next 12 months - a tenfold increase compared to the average annual caseload," Mercado said.

The data comes as new United Nations humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths and other officials are currently visiting Tigre to meet with Ethiopian officials and discuss scaling up the humanitarian response.

Mercado said UNICEF has recently started to reach areas of Tigray that were inaccessible due to the fighting and confirmed its "worst fears" about the health of children in the region.

After conducting the screening of more than 435,000 children, UNICEF found out that 15.6 percent suffer moderate acute malnutrition, which exceeds the emergency level of 15 percent, Mercado said.

Mercado pointed out the crisis is taking place amid "extensive" and recurring damage of humanitarian systems and services and restrictions on access to parts of the regions.

"We need unfettered access into Tigray and across the region in order to provide support children and women urgently need," Mercado said.

The United Nations said earlier some 400,000 people in the northern Ethiopian region face famine and another 1.8 million who may soon do so.