COVID-19 will lead to 6.7 million additional ‘wasted’ children, say global bodies

The global prevalence of child wasting — lower weight for height — in 2020 could rise by 14.3%, translating into an additional 6.7 million children under the age of five suffering from it as the pandemic resulted in disruption of food systems and impeded access to healthcare services, according to a new study published in The Lancet on Tuesday. The new estimates presented in The Lancet study titled ‘Impacts of COVID-19 on childhood malnutrition and nutrition-related mortality’ bring the total figure for 2020 to 53.7 million children under five. ‘Not seen this millennium’ “This would bring global wasting to levels not seen this millennium,” warn the heads of UNICEF, the Food and Agriculture Organization, the World Food Programme and the World Health Organization, in an accompanying commentary that was also published today. They have called upon governments to expand social protection services to ensure access to nutritious diets, scaling-up programmes to ensure early detection of child wasting, and ensuring nutritious meals for vulnerable children through home delivery, take-home rations, and cash or vouchers, as schools remain shut.