UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell’s remarks at an address on the state of global food security and nutrition

UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell’s remarks at an address on the state of global food security and nutrition

WASHINGTON, D.C., 18 July 2022  “Thank you, Henrietta [Fore] to your friendship and to your management on this vital subject.

“I additionally need to thank Administrator Power and our mates at CSIS and the Eleanor Crook Foundation for bringing us collectively at present – and for taking pressing motion to handle the rising world vitamin disaster.

“We are seeing the tough impression of this disaster within the quickly rising variety of youngsters below 5 that suffer from extreme losing.

“One baby has turn out to be severely wasted each minute of day-after-day because the starting of this 12 months.

“In the 15 hardest-hit nations, over 8 million youngsters below the age of 5 could die from extreme losing until they obtain speedy therapeutic meals and care.

“If you’ve got ever seen a severely wasted baby – as I’ve – it by no means leaves you. I shall be eternally haunted by the tiny, fragile youngsters I noticed on latest missions in Ethiopia and in Afghanistan.

“They are amongst hundreds of thousands of kids affected by losing world wide at present.

“Children affected by extreme losing are too weak and sick to eat atypical meals. They can’t be saved with luggage of wheat or soy. To survive, they want pressing therapeutic vitamin – RUTF.

“This scenario is vital. The situations that created this disaster – the crushing financial impression of the pandemic, struggle in Ukraine and different components of the world, and local weather change-driven drought – are placing extra youngsters in danger day-after-day.

“Rising charges of extreme malnutrition are critical sufficient. But that is coinciding with sharply decreased charges of immunization in opposition to childhood illnesses – a deadly mixture for malnourished youngsters.

“This might shortly turn out to be greater than a vitamin disaster. Without fast motion, we might be going through a baby survival disaster.

“Ahead of the G7 Leaders’ Summit in June, UNICEF appealed for $1.2 billion to forestall and deal with extreme losing in hundreds of thousands of kids in determined want.

“The G7 collectively pledged beneficiant assist to deal with the meals disaster. But it’s nonetheless unclear how a lot of the pledged assist will assist us attain youngsters with lifesaving meals – together with RUTF – whereas there may be nonetheless time to save lots of their lives.

“The United States has constantly performed a pivotal function in addressing malnutrition – and we’re grateful for his or her management in addressing the rising disaster.

“U.S. assist has been instrumental in serving to UNICEF and our companions scale up early prevention, detection and therapy insurance policies and programmes.

“I need to thank Administrator Power for being such a strong advocate for kids at such a vital time.

“We want different governments to comply with. We want everybody to affirm that youngsters’s lives matter. 

“For if we don’t, we are going to see a long time of progress in baby survival slip by our fingers. None of us can tolerate that. 

“Not after we know what works. Not after we know ship it.

“We wouldn’t have a second to waste.

Thank you.”

https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/unicef-executive-director-catherine-russells-remarks-address-state-global-food

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