Without funding, thousands of malnourished Somali children at risk of death, UNICEF warns

UNICEF on Wednesday "warned that thousands of acutely malnourished children in Somalia are at risk of death because little money is available to help them," VOA News writes, adding, "UNICEF said it has received only 12 percent of its $289 million emergency appeal for humanitarian operations this year." "The famine declared in southern Somalia last year is over," but "Somalia remains the world's most complex humanitarian situation," the news service writes, noting that UNICEF "reported that almost one-third of Somalis are unable to meet their essential food and non-food needs."

UNICEF spokesperson Marixie Mercado "said some 325,000 acutely malnourished children are in great need of assistance" and that "her agency scaled up nutrition programs significantly between July and December at the peak of last year's crisis," VOA notes. "But, those programs now are at risk," the news service writes, adding, "Mercado said insecurity and lack of access to affected areas remains a huge problem for aid agencies that are trying assist people in need" (Schlein, 5/2).