Non-Party Moms: Nearly 7 million teenage girls and breastfeeding pregnant women suffer from acute malnutrition in 12 countries

ROME – On the occasion of Mother’s Day, theUNICEF recalls that the number of adolescent girls and pregnant and breastfeeding women suffering from acute malnutrition has risen from 5.5 million to 6.9 million since 2020, an increase of 25%, in the 12 countries most affected by the food and nutrition crisis global. The 12 countries – including Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Chad, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Yemen – represent the epicenter of a global nutrition crisis that has been exacerbated by the war in Ukraine and by ongoing drought, conflict and instability in some countries. Pregnant women and newborns continue to die at unacceptably high rates around the world, and the pandemic has created further hurdles in getting them the health care they need.

Infants who do not survive. Over 4.5 million women and newborns die each year during pregnancy, childbirth or the first few weeks after birth – which equates to one death every 7 seconds – mostly from causes that could be prevented or treated if care were available appropriate. Global progress in reducing the deaths of pregnant women, mothers and newborns stalled for eight years due to declining investment in maternal and newborn health. Globally, 51 million children under 2 suffer from chronic malnutrition, i.e. they are too short for their age due to malnutrition. Of those, about half are affected during pregnancy and the first six months of life, the 500-day period in which a baby is completely dependent on its mother’s nutrition, according to a new analysis in the report.

Malnutrition and anemia per 1 billion adolescents. More than a billion adolescent girls and women suffer from undernourishment (including underweight and short stature), essential micronutrient deficiencies and anemia, with devastating consequences for their lives and well-being. Global crises continue to disproportionately affect women’s access to nutritious food. In 2021, there were 126 million more women who were food insecure than men, compared to 49 million more (than men) in 2019, a figure that more than doubled the gender gap in food insecurity.

Health systems under stress. The pandemic coupled with rising poverty and a general worsening of humanitarian crises have intensified the pressures on ailing health systems. Since 2018, more than three-quarters of all conflict-affected and sub-Saharan African countries have experienced a decline in funding for maternal and newborn health. The global hunger crisis is driving millions of mothers and their children into starvation and severe malnutrition. Inadequate nutrition during the lifetime of girls and women can lead to weakened immunity, poor cognitive development and an increased risk of life-threatening complications, including during pregnancy and childbirth, with dangerous and irreversible consequences for their children’s survival, growth, learning and future earning capacity.