This week, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Priyanka Chopra Jonas visited northern Kenya to see children who are severely acutely malnourished as a result of the widespread drought that has been plaguing the Horn of Africa.
Chopra Jonas spent two days in Turkana County, one of 15 Kenyan areas devastated by drought as a result of climate change and the continued effects of COVID-19, where nearly one in three children are acutely malnourished. Severe wasting, also known as severe acute malnutrition, is a condition that requires care for about 900,000 children under the age of five in the affected nations.
"Children are starving to death in the Horn of Africa, and millions more people are currently in danger of going hungry", according to Chopra Jonas. "Some of the families I encountered had gone three days without eating, and the majority of them made less than $1 per day. Here, climate change manifests itself as this."
"Unicef's life-saving actions on the ground, including the delivery of nutrient-rich therapeutic foods that can save a child's life, are helping to curb this hunger crisis."
Due to Kenya's four recent unsuccessful rainy seasons, 1.4 million children now have less access to healthy food, clean water, healthcare, education, and safeguards against abuse and neglect. More children and families are anticipated to require humanitarian aid as a result of the fifth predicted unfavourable rainy season.
Priyanka visited two-year-old Keeza, who was admitted with acute malnutrition, at a paediatric stabilisation centre at the Lodwar Referral Hospital in Lodwar Town, where children in the worst situations are admitted for specialised treatment. Keeza's immune system was compromised, making it difficult for her to fend off illness. Keeza consequently had pneumonia, oedema, and malaria.
Keeza was brought in and admitted to the hospital after community health volunteers tracked him down to his house in Nakwamekwi Village in Lodwar Town.
"In Kenya, it is a sad fact that many vulnerable children, like Keeza, go without the care they require. Malnourished children can't fight off sickness since their immune systems are already compromised, thus they have an equal chance of dying from the disease as from hunger. It is damaging and avoidable. Millions more children would be forced to the verge of death if we don't take action right away "Chopra Jonas remarked.
Chopra Jonas also spoke with residents of the Sopel Village community, some of whom had to leave their homes in search of water and pasture for their livestock due to the severe drought in central Turkana. At Sopel, a solar-powered borehole has been built, providing dependable and secure access to water for the entire town, including at the neighbourhood health centre and elementary school.
Governments, the commercial sector, and private citizens are being urged by UNICEF to provide urgent financial support for the Horn of Africa drought response. More needs to be done to broaden and maintain the response while also investing in longer-term resilience to support families dealing with recurrent climate-related emergencies as the situation worsens.
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