WHO: 10 Thousand Children to Die from Malnutrition Monthly

The Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) said today, Wednesday, that ten thousand more children may die every month in the world this year due to malnutrition resulting from the repercussions of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Speaking at a conference of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that he expected an increase of 14 percent this year in the number of malnourished children due to the pandemic.

This means that another 6.7 million children will suffer from malnutrition, most of them in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

"The pandemic has caused serious imbalances in basic services, immunization, maternity services, child nutrition, family planning, and more," said Gebresus.

"We cannot accept a world where the rich can have healthy food while no one cares about the poor," he added.

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said that nearly 7 million children are likely to suffer from symptoms of acute malnutrition this year, as it linked the repercussions of the deadly virus.

COVID-19 causes imbalances in mobility and diets, due to the relatively short closures, thus it will lead to a decrease of close to 8% in gross national income per capita compared to previous projections of the pandemic.

The statement said that projections indicate a 14% increase in the number of children under the age of five suffering from moderate or severe wasting, which means that another 6.7 million could be affected this year compared to previous projections for the pandemic.