Pandemic-Related Restrictions Leading To Increase In Child Hunger, Wasting, Death, Lancet Analysis, UNICEF Warn

AP: Virus-linked hunger tied to 10,000 child deaths each month
“…All around the world, the coronavirus and its restrictions are pushing already hungry communities over the edge, cutting off meager farms from markets and isolating villages from food and medical aid. Virus-linked hunger is leading to the deaths of 10,000 more children a month over the first year of the pandemic, according to an urgent call to action from the United Nations shared with the Associated Press ahead of its publication in the Lancet medical journal. Further, more than 550,000 additional children each month are being struck by what is called wasting, according to the U.N. — malnutrition that manifests in spindly limbs and distended bellies. Over a year, that’s up 6.7 million from last year’s total of 47 million. Wasting and stunting can permanently damage children physically and mentally, transforming individual tragedies into a generational catastrophe…” (Hinnant/Mednick, 7/27).

Additional coverage of the report is available from AP and The Telegraph.

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