The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said an estimated 10.4 million children in eight countries, including Nigeria, may suffer from acute malnutrition in 2021.

UNICEF, which disclosed this in a statement recently, said other affected countries are Republic of the Congo (DRC), Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Sudan, South Sudan, and Yemen. The statement read: “As 2021 approaches, UNICEF is deeply concerned for the health and the well-being of 10.4 million children projected to suffer from acute malnutrition next year in those countries.”

According to the agency, ongoing insecurity in the DRC, socio-economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and limited access to essential services will cause an estimated 3.3 million children under the age of five to suffer from acute malnutrition next year. In Nigeria’s North-East, more than 800,000 children are expected to suffer from acute malnutrition, including almost 300,000 who are estimated to be at imminent risk of death.

UNICEF said that if interruptions to services and rising malnutrition continued, then it could lead to about 2 million additional deaths of children, and 200,000 additional stillbirths over the next 12 months. In addition, UNICEF appealed to government to close the gap using the six-point plan – to close the digital divide in education, guarantee access to nutrition and health services, make vaccines affordable, support mental health of children and support children and their families living through conflicts and disaster. Ripples Nigeria