Over 10 million children will suffer from acute malnutrition in 2021: Unicef

More than 10 million children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, northeast Nigeria, the Central Sahel, South Sudan and Yemen will suffer from acute malnutrition in 2021, the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) has said.

In a statement on Wednesday, Unicef also warned that the numbers could rise further without urgent action. 

All of these countries and regions are experiencing "dire humanitarian crises" while also grappling with intensifying food insecurity, the coronavirus pandemic and, with the exception of the Central Sahel, "a looming famine", the UN agency said.  

"For countries reeling from the consequences of conflicts, disasters and climate change, COVID-19 has turned a nutrition crisis into an imminent catastrophe," said Unicef Executive Director Henrietta Fore.  

"Families already struggling to feed their children and themselves are now on the brink of famine. We can't let them be the forgotten victims of 2020," she added.