Malawi’s children still face dire conditions – UNICEF

Chronic poverty, bad weather conditions, bad harvest, a high prevalence of HIV/AIDS and an outbreak of cholera are forming a deadly combination in Malawi, where the situation of young people remains dire, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said today.

Nearly half of all children under five years of age in Malawi are stunted and one-fifth are underweight or malnourished, according to the agency. Children and pregnant women make up one fifth of the nearly 5 million Malawians in need of food aid.

Over 1,800 children severely malnourished children were admitted to the country’s 84 UNICEF-backed Nutrition Rehabilitation Units last month – a 54 per cent increase compared to same period last year.

The agency is treating up to 3,500 children with acute severe malnutrition each month. It also provides supplementary feeding in collaboration with the UN World Food Programme (WFP) which reaches now some 130,000 children under five, as well as pregnant and lactating women.

In addition to the food crisis, cholera has killed a dozen people in recent months in Malawi. UNICEF provides essential drugs and supplies in order to reduce cholera and fight other diseases. It is also supporting school feeding in 620 schools, benefiting some 500,000 primary school children.

Malawi’s children are affected by the country’s high prevalence of HIV/AIDS. Roughly16 per cent of people aged 15 to 49 are infected, and some 400,000 children under 15 have been orphaned by the disease.

To date UNICEF has received $11.5 million in contributions or pledges against its $13 million appeal.