Toll of malnutrition high

UNICEF BOSS: NEARLY 25% OF KIDS DIE, WITH SEVERE WASTING IN CHILDREN DOUBLING

- Masoka Dube

Malnutrition in children is growing in South Africa, with severe cases that result in deaths.

Unicef chief of health in South Africa Dr Sufang Guo said "prevalence of wasting in children has doubled from 2.5% in 2016, to 5% in 2024, and severe wasted children account for 3.2%".

"Those severely wasted children are facing life-threatening situations," Guo said.

He added that 24% of children who died in the country in 2019 had severe malnutrition.

"However, we do not have the latest updates on the proportion of children who died who had severe malnutrition."

A total of 110 children under the age of five died of malnutrition over the past three years.