Zimbabwe faces its worst
malnutrition crisis in 15 years, with tens of thousands of children requiring
urgent treatment, UNICEF said Tuesday as the government announced four million
people need food aid.
Poor rains induced by the El
Nino weather phenomenon have hampered food production, and diminishing reserves
have left many people in rural parts of Zimbabwe short of essential supplies.
The number of hungry families
doubled in the past eight months "as nearly 33,000 children are in urgent
need of treatment for severe acute malnutrition," UNICEF representative
Jane Muita said in a statement.
"We have not seen these
levels of malnutrition in more than 15 years and... more needs to be done to
prevent this crisis from spiralling out of control."
"Severe acute malnutrition"
is defined as extreme hunger causing visible wasting and fluid retention.Water scarcity is also
exposing children to higher risks of diarrhoea, typhoid and other waterborne
diseases including cholera," Muita added.
UNICEF is requesting $21 million
in aid to meet the needs of children in Zimbabwe.
Some families are saving
dwindling stocks by skipping meals, while schoolchildren are missing classes
due to hunger, according to local media reports.
In addition to the effects of
severe drought, Zimbabwe has suffered perennial grain shortages after land
reforms under which commercial farms owned by whites were redistributed to
landless blacks.
The state-owned Herald
newspaper on Tuesday quoted social welfare minister Prisca Mupfumira as saying
up to four million people required food assistance nationwide.