WHO appeals for $123.7 m to prevent food crisis from turning into health crisis 

03 / 08 / 2022

By Marwa Nassar - -

The World Health Organization (WHO) called for securing $123.7 million to respond to rising health needs and prevent a food crisis from turning into a health crisis.

“The situation is already catastrophic, and we need to act now,” said Ibrahima Soce Fall, WHO Assistant Director General for Emergencies Response. “We cannot continue in this underfunding crisis”.

More than 37 million people are facing acute hunger, with approximately seven million children under the age of five acutely malnourished in the Horn of Africa region.

While finding food and safe water is the absolute priority, WHO said that ensuring a strong health emergency response is needed to avert preventable disease and deaths.

Climate change, conflict, rising food prices and the COVID-19 pandemic have compounded one of the worst droughts in the region in recent decades, according to the WHO appeal.

“There are now four seasons where the rain didn’t come as predicted and a fifth season is estimated to also fail. Places where there is drought the problem keeps worsening and worsening,” said WHO Incident Manager Sophie Maes.

“In other places like South Sudan, there have been three years of consecutive flooding with almost 40 per cent of the country being flooded. And we are looking at something that is going to get worse in the near future.”

Acute malnutrition leads to increased migration as populations move in search of food and pasture, according to WHO.

And disruptions often result in deteriorating hygiene and sanitation as outbreaks of infectious diseases, like cholera, measles, and malaria, are already on the rise.

Moreover, weak vaccination coverage and health services with insufficient resources could see a widespread increase in the number of disease outbreaks in country and across borders.

Care for severely malnourished children with medical complications will be severely impacted and result in high child mortality rates.

Disruptions in access to health care can further increase morbidity and mortality, as emergency conditions force populations to modify their health-seeking behavior and prioritize access to life-saving resources such as food and water.