“No Vaccine for Hunger” this World Food Day

Save the Children today launched its end of year appeal ahead of tomorrow’s World Food Day aimed at raising much-needed funds to help prevent thousands of children dying of hunger. 

With an estimated 5.7 million children under five on the brink of starvation across the globe, and a further 13 million children under 18 facing extreme food shortages, the world is facing the biggest global hunger crisis of the 21st century, Save the Children says.

For the first time in decades, child hunger and malnutrition is on the rise due to a deadly combination of COVID-19, conflicts, and the impacts of climate change pushing hunger and malnutrition levels to a record global high.

Save the Children New Zealand Chief Executive Heidi Coetzee says that without urgent action, thousands of children will starve, reversing decades of progress.

“As New Zealanders prepare to further fight the COVID-19 pandemic on Super Saturday, World Food Day reminds us that another fight continues. Sadly, there’s no vaccine for hunger, but with the help of generous Kiwi supporters, we can find a solution. 

“Our teams on the ground are seeing the number of malnutrition cases rise by the day. People like Canab* in Somalia whose two-year-old twins have never known anything but hunger.”

Funds raised by Save the Children will go towards life-saving malnutrition treatments for children, setting up water trucking and feeding programmes at schools and providing cash grants for families to access food and medical supplies.

Ms Coetzee says that in times of crisis, children are always the most vulnerable.

“Without adequate nutritious food, children cannot develop as they should and are at a high risk of acute malnutrition. This can lead to stunting or death, with irreversible damage to a child’s physical and cognitive development.”

New Zealanders wanting to support the appeal should go to www.savethechildren.org.nz.

*Names have been changed.