Despite good harvest, over one million children are expected to be malnourished in the Sahel

DAKAR, 20 December 2012 (IRIN) – Despite good rains across much of the Sahel this year, 1.4 million children are expected to be malnourished – up from one million in 2012, according to the 2013 Sahel regional strategy.

The strategy, which calls on donors to provide US$1.6 billion of aid for 2013, says fewer people are expected to go hungry in 2013 – 10.3 million instead of 18.7 million in 2012.

Harvests across much of the Sahel were fairly good this year following more steady rains, but vulnerability remain as the 2012 crisis, on the back of crises in 2005 and 2010, left many families heavily indebted, with severely depleted assets, and with no seeds to plant.

The number of malnourished children being targeted is rising partly because absorbing the 2012 shock takes time and food prices remain high; and because the illness is linked to health care services, caring practices and access to clean water, not just food security…Food insecurity is at the root of just one third of malnutrition cases, says the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), with other drivers including poor health services, lack of clean water and poor infant caring practices.

See the full story from IRIN here.