Latest news with #Ereng
The Independent
16-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
UK aid cuts will decimate the fight against malnutrition – leaving millions at risk across Africa
Around a year and a half after the birth of her daughter Ereng, Lomanat, 39, became extremely worried about the toddler's health. She seemed an unhealthy weight, often crying as a result of hunger, but the family - which includes dad Daniel, 40, and son Mzee, 8 - were unable to give her the food that she needed. Life had become hard after recent droughts in the area of Northern Kenya where they live killed off all of the 40 goats they kept for food and to sell. The family no longer had a sustainable income or reliable food source, and now make most of their money by burning wood to make charcoal to sell. 'My child was in very bad shape,' Lomanat says of Ereng. 'She was malnourished.' Lomanat was able to walk two miles in the heat to a clinic, which supplied her with nutritional treatment for Ereng, in the form of a chocolate-flavoured fortified peanut paste. 'My child started gaining weight and gaining weight, until I saw that the baby became alive again,' says Lomanat. 'I am very happy, because she is cured.' The support that Ereng received was funded by Save the Children – but the charity is now warning that aid cuts are putting their nutrition programmes at risk. Specifically, in a new analysis shared exclusively with The Independent, the charity is warning that slashing the budget will lead to UK nutrition support – which helps treat people with malnutrition in the form of peanut paste or corn-soy porridge – being slashed by nearly 90 per cent. The 'best case' modelled scenario shows nutrition support dropping from being able to support 10.8 million people in 2019 to just 1.1 million in 2027. The prime minister, Sir Keir Starmer, said in February that the UK would cut foreign aid from 0.5 per cent to 0.3 per cent of Gross National Income (GNI) from 2027, in order to help pay for increased defence spending. According to the most recent forecasts for GNI, this is set to reduce the aid budget from £15.4 to £9.2 billion by the 2027/8 financial year. Researcher Richard Watts says that Save the Children can predict the expected squeeze on certain aid programmes due to the number of already-existing commitments that have been made with UK foreign aid all the way to 2027/8. Indeed, current commitments for 2027/8 already exceed the budget ceiling, according to Watts. The fact that the government has pledged to support five priority areas - Ukraine, Sudan, Gaza, climate crisis and multilateral organisations - also means there are expected to be particularly large cuts to other programmes, and significantly reduced support to the world's poorest. It comes after reporting from The Independent that millions of people in Somalia could be at risk of acute hunger and food shortages thanks to Donald Trump's own extreme cuts to international aid. Callum Northcote, head of hunger and nutrition at Save the Children UK, describes the projection as a 'significant setback' to the UK's work tackling hunger. "Half the world's children are unable to afford a healthy diet and against a backdrop of escalating food insecurity worldwide and the growing threat of the climate crisis, the situation is likely to get worse,' he says. Malnourishment is a global problem that is already largely unsolved: More than four of five children with acute malnutrition do not receive nutrition support as a result of bureaucracy or a lack of funding, according to the International Rescue Committee charity. The climate crisis will compound the impact of these cuts as it increasingly puts crops and other farming under pressure through droughts and other extreme weather. Growth stunting, or being too short for your age, and wasting – children too thin for their height as a the result of recent rapid weight loss or the failure to gain weight – are two of the most severe impacts of malnutrition. Modeling from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, a US-based health research group, suggests that if no action is taken on climate change, between 2024 and 2050 there will be an additional 40 million children stunted and 28 million children wasting. Those figures come on top of the 148 million children that experienced stunting and 45 million children that experienced wasting in 2023, according to the World Health Organisation. In response to the modelling of UK aid cuts on future nutrition support, a spokesperson for FCDO told The Independent: 'Detailed decisions on how the ODA [overseas development aid] budget will be used will be worked through as part of the ongoing Spending Review process, based on various factors including impact assessments. 'We will be taking a rigorous approach to ensuring all ODA delivers value for money.' The UK Spending Review, which is set to reveal multi-year spending plans for government departments, is ongoing, and will be finalised in June.
Scoop
23-04-2025
- Health
- Scoop
Aid Cuts Threaten The Lives Of 110,000 Children With Severe Malnutrition Reliant On Emergency Treatment
Press Release – Save The Children Globally, one in five deaths among children aged under 5 are attributed to severe acute malnutrition, making it one of the top threats to child survival. At least 110,000- severely acutely malnourished children supported by Save the Children in 10 countries could be left without access to life-saving ready-to-use emergency food and nutrition programmes as aid cuts hit supplies in coming months, according to a Save the Children analysis. Globally, one in five deaths among children aged under 5 are attributed to severe acute malnutrition, making it one of the top threats to child survival. Community-based programmes combining medical treatment and therapeutic foods, including a fortified peanut paste, have a 90% success rate. Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) is an energy-dense, micronutrient paste typically made using peanuts, sugar, milk powder, oil, vitamins and minerals that is packaged in foil pouches with a long shelf life and no need of refrigeration. Over the past 30 years this emergency therapeutic food has saved the lives of millions of children facing acute malnutrition [1] [2]. At a time when global hunger is skyrocketing [3], the current global supply of RUTF is already not even meeting 40% of global needs, Save the Children said, leaving millions of children without access to this life-saving intervention. In 2024 there were large-scale breaks in the supply of RUTF as rising malnutrition rates drove up demand and due to disruptions in global supply chains and insufficient funding. This situation is expected to worsen in 2025. An analysis by Save the Children of the 10 countries forecast to have the biggest gaps in supplies found 110,000 malnourished children could miss out on this vital treatment by the end of the year. RUTF supplies are expected to run out in many locations from next month due to a lack of funding. Globally at least 18.2 million children were born into hunger in 2024, or about 35 children a minute, with children in conflict zones from Gaza to Ukraine, to Haiti, Sudan to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), struggling daily to get enough to eat. Famine has been declared in several parts of Sudan where people are resorting to eating grass to stay alive. Hannah Stephenson, Head of Hunger and Nutrition at Save the Children, said: 'Right now, funding shortfalls mean essential nutrition packs are not reaching the children who desperately need them. We know we have the expertise and the track record to reach children around the world but what we urgently need now is the funding to ensure children can receive life-saving treatment. We are running out of time, and t his will cost children's lives. 'We also need to see long-term commitments to tackle the root causes of hunger and malnutrition, or else we will continue to see the reversal of progress made for children.' In Kenya, one of the countries where Save the Children treats acute malnutrition cases, 18-month-old Ereng has just recovered from malnutrition with treatment from Community Health Promoter Charles, who was trained in basic healthcare by Save the Children. Lomanat and Daniel, Ereng's parents, walked for several kilometres to reach Charles' clinic. The family are pastoralists, but recent droughts have killed their livestock, and the family now has no sustainable income and no reliable food source. They know how important treatment is for children like Ereng, who gained 2.4 kgs (5.3 pounds) in two months once she started receiving nutrition treatment using the fortified peanut paste which has about 500 calories in each portion. Lomanat said: 'Our child was in a very bad shape, and the doctor helped by giving her peanut paste. I am very happy, because she is cured.' In Somalia, where Save the Children also treats child with acute malnutrition, 7-month-Mukhtar- arrived at a health centre in Puntland after contracting flu which led to breathing difficulties and malnutrition. His mother Shamso, 40, who has eight other children, feared her son would not survive with the family struggling after drought killed all but six of their herd of 30 goats. But after receiving medical care and treatment for malnutrition with peanut paste, Mukhtar recovered and returned home. 'His condition was serious when I brought him in and I didn't expect him to reach the town alive ,' said Shamso. 'My biggest worry is the children, whether my own, those of the relatives or those of my neighbours. When drought comes, it follows that hunger will strike.' Children are always the most vulnerable in food crises and, without enough to eat and the right nutritional balance, they are at high risk of becoming acutely malnourished. Malnutrition can cause stunting, impede mental and physical development, and increase the risk of contracting deadly diseases. About 1.12 billion children globally – or almost half of the world's children – are unable to afford a balanced diet now, according to data from Save the Children released last month. In 2025, Save the Children aims to treat 260,000 children for severe acute malnutrition at outpatient sites in 10 countries that are now experiencing therapeutic food shortages. Save the Children is urgently trying to raise $7 million to provide 110,000 severely malnourished children with life-saving RUTF and the critical services needed to treat malnutrition 1 including skilled health workers, community follow-up, immunizations, safe spaces for treatment, safe water, hygiene and sanitation support. In the United States, actress and Save the Children ambassador Jennifer Garner launched her #67Strong4Kids campaign on her birthday last week. For #67Strong4Kids she is running a mile a day for 67 consecutive days to raise awareness about Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF). The amount $67 covers a six-week course of RUTF that treats a child suffering from severe acute malnutrition and potentially saves their life.
Scoop
23-04-2025
- Health
- Scoop
Aid Cuts Threaten The Lives Of 110,000 Children With Severe Malnutrition Reliant On Emergency Treatment
At least 110,000- severely acutely malnourished children supported by Save the Children in 10 countries could be left without access to life-saving ready-to-use emergency food and nutrition programmes as aid cuts hit supplies in coming months, according to a Save the Children analysis. Globally, one in five deaths among children aged under 5 are attributed to severe acute malnutrition, making it one of the top threats to child survival. Community-based programmes combining medical treatment and therapeutic foods, including a fortified peanut paste, have a 90% success rate. Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) is an energy-dense, micronutrient paste typically made using peanuts, sugar, milk powder, oil, vitamins and minerals that is packaged in foil pouches with a long shelf life and no need of refrigeration. Over the past 30 years this emergency therapeutic food has saved the lives of millions of children facing acute malnutrition [1] [2]. At a time when global hunger is skyrocketing [3], the current global supply of RUTF is already not even meeting 40% of global needs, Save the Children said, leaving millions of children without access to this life-saving intervention. In 2024 there were large-scale breaks in the supply of RUTF as rising malnutrition rates drove up demand and due to disruptions in global supply chains and insufficient funding. This situation is expected to worsen in 2025. An analysis by Save the Children of the 10 countries forecast to have the biggest gaps in supplies found 110,000 malnourished children could miss out on this vital treatment by the end of the year. RUTF supplies are expected to run out in many locations from next month due to a lack of funding. Globally at least 18.2 million children were born into hunger in 2024, or about 35 children a minute, with children in conflict zones from Gaza to Ukraine, to Haiti, Sudan to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), struggling daily to get enough to eat. Famine has been declared in several parts of Sudan where people are resorting to eating grass to stay alive. Hannah Stephenson, Head of Hunger and Nutrition at Save the Children, said: "Right now, funding shortfalls mean essential nutrition packs are not reaching the children who desperately need them. We know we have the expertise and the track record to reach children around the world but what we urgently need now is the funding to ensure children can receive life-saving treatment. We are running out of time, and t his will cost children's lives. "We also need to see long-term commitments to tackle the root causes of hunger and malnutrition, or else we will continue to see the reversal of progress made for children." In Kenya, one of the countries where Save the Children treats acute malnutrition cases, 18-month-old Ereng has just recovered from malnutrition with treatment from Community Health Promoter Charles, who was trained in basic healthcare by Save the Children. Lomanat and Daniel, Ereng's parents, walked for several kilometres to reach Charles' clinic. The family are pastoralists, but recent droughts have killed their livestock, and the family now has no sustainable income and no reliable food source. They know how important treatment is for children like Ereng, who gained 2.4 kgs (5.3 pounds) in two months once she started receiving nutrition treatment using the fortified peanut paste which has about 500 calories in each portion. Lomanat said: "Our child was in a very bad shape, and the doctor helped by giving her peanut paste. I am very happy, because she is cured." In Somalia, where Save the Children also treats child with acute malnutrition, 7-month-Mukhtar- arrived at a health centre in Puntland after contracting flu which led to breathing difficulties and malnutrition. His mother Shamso, 40, who has eight other children, feared her son would not survive with the family struggling after drought killed all but six of their herd of 30 goats. But after receiving medical care and treatment for malnutrition with peanut paste, Mukhtar recovered and returned home. "His condition was serious when I brought him in and I didn't expect him to reach the town alive ," said Shamso. "My biggest worry is the children, whether my own, those of the relatives or those of my neighbours. When drought comes, it follows that hunger will strike." Children are always the most vulnerable in food crises and, without enough to eat and the right nutritional balance, they are at high risk of becoming acutely malnourished. Malnutrition can cause stunting, impede mental and physical development, and increase the risk of contracting deadly diseases. About 1.12 billion children globally - or almost half of the world's children - are unable to afford a balanced diet now, according to data from Save the Children released last month. In 2025, Save the Children aims to treat 260,000 children for severe acute malnutrition at outpatient sites in 10 countries that are now experiencing therapeutic food shortages. Save the Children is urgently trying to raise $7 million to provide 110,000 severely malnourished children with life-saving RUTF and the critical services needed to treat malnutrition 1 including skilled health workers, community follow-up, immunizations, safe spaces for treatment, safe water, hygiene and sanitation support. In the United States, actress and Save the Children ambassador Jennifer Garner launched her #67Strong4Kids campaign on her birthday last week. For #67Strong4Kids she is running a mile a day for 67 consecutive days to raise awareness about Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF). The amount $67 covers a six-week course of RUTF that treats a child suffering from severe acute malnutrition and potentially saves their life.
