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STORY: UNICEF / EL NIÑO IMPACT
TRT: 01:47
SOURCE: UNICEF
RESTRICTIONS: EMBARGOED UNTIL 00:01 GMT ON 8 JULY 2016
LANGUAGE: NATS
DATELINE: FILE
FILE - 26-30 MARCH, 2016, QULUJEED, SOMALILAND
1. Wide shot, cracked, dry earth showing the effects of drought
2. Wide shot, dust blown up by wind
3. Wide shot, refugee women and children out in the open
4. Close up, old woman
5. Close up, children sitting down
6. Wide shot, two women sitting down
FILE - 15-20 APRIL, 2016, MWENEZI DISTRICT, HARARE ZIMBABWE
7. Wide shot, woman picks up corn
8. Close up, woman holds corn
9. Wide shot, women walking with kids in a dirt road
10. Close up, women walking with kids in a dirt road
11. Med shot, kid is by the water fountain
12. Wide shot, family getting water into buckets
13. Various shots, children getting vaccinated and weighed
FILE - 15 FEBRUARY 2016, MALAWI
14. Wide shot, parents with their children, waiting for them to be examined for malnutrition
15. Various shots, health worker examining the upper arm circumference of a malnourished child
16. Various shots, mother feeding child therapeutic food
FILE - 23-26 NOVEMBER 2015, VANUATU
17. Med shot, mother and child
18. Med shot, child staring at camera
19. Med shot, children standing
20. Various shots, health worker speaking to a mother with her child who is being treated for malnutrition
21. Close up, child’s upper arm being measured
UNICEF reported today (7 July) that although the 2015-2016 El Niño has ended, its devastating impact on children is worsening, as hunger, malnutrition and disease continue to increase following the severe droughts and floods spawned by the event, one of the strongest on record.
UNICEF said in a report called It’s not over – El Niño’s impact on children that there is a strong chance La Niña – El Niño’s flip side – could strike at some stage this year, further exacerbating a severe humanitarian crisis that is affecting millions of children in some of the most vulnerable communities.
Children in the worst affected areas are going hungry. In Eastern and Southern Africa – the worst hit regions – some 26.5 million children need support, including more than one million who need treatment for severe acute malnutrition.
In many countries, already strained resources, have reached their limits, and affected families have exhausted their coping mechanisms – such as selling off assets and skipping meals. Unless more aid is forthcoming, including urgent nutritional support for young children, decades of development progress could be eroded.
In many countries, El Niño affected access to safe water, and has been linked to increases in diseases such as dengue fever, diarrhoea and cholera, which are major killers of children. In South America, and particularly Brazil, El Niño has created favourable breeding conditions for the mosquito that can transmit Zika, dengue, yellow fever and chikungunya. If La Niña does develop, it could contribute to the spread of the Zika virus to areas that have not been affected to date.
UNICEF also said there are serious concerns that Southern Africa, the global epicentre of the AIDS pandemic, could see an increased transmission of HIV as a result of El Niño’s impact. Lack of food affects access to anti-retroviral therapy (ART), as patients tend not to take treatment on an empty stomach, and many people will use their limited resources for food rather than transport to a health facility. Drought can also force adolescent girls and women to engage in transactional sex to survive. And, mortality for children living with HIV is two to six times higher for those who are severely malnourished than for those who are not.
