• The Global Food Crises Report by IGAD reveals that 370,000 children were in need of treatment for acute malnutrition between February and May.
• Acute malnutrition remains critical in Garissa, Wajir, Mandera, Turkana, Isiolo, Marsabit and Baringo.
Image: FILE
Child malnutrition levels are expected to rise throughout the year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, an IGAD report says.
The 2020 Global Report on Food Crises attributes the rise to the pandemic’s long-term socioeconomic effects on food access and disruptions of basic health services. This include treatment for acute malnutrition, with the youngest children most at risk.
IGAD executive secretary Workneh Gebeyehu said a combination of factors will continue to drive high levels of acute malnutrition across the region. This include poverty, food insecurity, disease outbreaks, poor healthcare, suboptimal child feeding practices, poor hygiene and sanitation.
In Kenya, the situation improved in most counties early this year compared to 2019 mainly due to the good performance of last year's short rains and improved food security.
The report revealed that 370,000 children were in need of treatment for acute malnutrition between February and May.
Acute malnutrition, according to the report, remains critical in Garissa, Wajir, Mandera, Turkana and Isiolo counties, North Horr and Laisamis subcounties in Marsabit and Tiaty subcounty in Baringo.
The report further indicates that there has been a notable improvement in Turkana North, Turkana South and Laisamis subcounties, which were classified as extremely critical during the July 2019 long rains assessment.
The nutrition situation deteriorated in several counties from February to July 2019. Laisamis, Turkana South and North were classified as extremely critical.
North Horr, Turkana Central and West, Mandera, Wajir, Garissa and Tiaty were in the critical phase, while Isiolo and West Pokot were in the serious phase.
In March, Unicef data showed that over 541,300 children aged between 6–59 months in ASAL counties required treatment for acute malnutrition in 2019.
The figure included 113,941 suffering severe acute malnutrition.
A 2019 report by the International Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) says poor food availability in Kenya (including milk) and increasing food prices were among the drivers of the high prevalence of acute malnutrition.
“Limited access to health and nutrition services following a scale-down of integrated outreaches in some areas such as Laisamis in Marsabit are also contributory factors. High morbidity, poor child-feeding practices, poverty, high illiteracy and poor infrastructure aggravate the problem,” IPC October report states.
IGAD says the number of acutely food insecure people is expected to fall from 1.3 million from February and March to nearly one million during the harvest period of April–July.
This corresponds to six per cent of the population living in ASAL regions and is lower than the same period in 2019, largely thanks to the abundant short rains (October–December) that improved vegetation and provided favourable conditions for livestock production.
Edited by Henry Makori