Over 1.5 million children face nutritional crisis in Burkina Faso – report

In a report issued on Tuesday, humanitarian group Save the Children said nearly 13 million people were facing a lack of food in the West African country, nearly half of them children.

CAPE TOWN, April 13 (ANA) – More than 1.5 million children under the age of five in Burkina Faso are facing a nutrition crisis, humanitarian group Save the Children says.

In a report issued on Tuesday, the organisation said nearly 13 million people are facing a lack of food in the West African country, nearly half of them children.

In September the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) reported that over 535,500 children under five years of age in Burkina Faso were acutely malnourished, including 156,500 suffering from severe acute malnutrition who were at imminent risk of death.

In its own report, Save the Children said ongoing violence had displaced hundreds of thousands of people, worsening the plight of young ones.

The report says insecurity in rural areas means that many families cannot work their fields or keep their animals, two main sources of income and food.

According to the United Nations, more than US$600 million is needed to meet the growing humanitarian needs in Burkina Faso.

Save the Children says the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has worsened an already tense situation, meaning that especially vulnerable children are paying the highest price.

“We must focus on malnourished children, as their wellbeing, their futures or sometimes even their lives are at risk,” its interim country director in Burkina Faso Eric Hazard said.

“Growing insecurity and the impact of climate change compounds the problem by disrupting food production and household economies.”

Save the Children was established in Britain early in the 20th century to improve the lives of children through better education, health care and economic opportunities, as well to provide emergency aid in natural disasters, war and other conflicts.

– African News Agency (ANA), Editing by Stella Mapenzauswa