UNICEF has raised concerns about the increasing risk of malnutrition and food insecurity among children in Botswana, as agricultural production declines and the costs of importing cereals and other foodstuffs continue to rise.
The situation is critical, with over 12,000 children under the age of five already underweight. This alarming development coincides with a severe drought affecting Southern Africa, endangering hundreds of thousands of young lives.
UNICEF says six countries, including Botswana, are the hardest hit and predicts that 270,000 children among those countries will suffer from life-threatening severe acute malnutrition (SAM) in 2024.
The El Niño phenomenon, characterised by extremely low rainfall, has exacerbated the crisis, leading Lesotho to join Botswana, Malawi, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe in declaring a state of national food disaster. Etleva Kadilli, UNICEF’s Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa, expressed deep concern over the humanitarian needs arising from El Niño, highlighting the increasing food insecurity, challenges in accessing safe water and sanitation, and the heightened risk of disease outbreaks such as cholera. Kadilli warned that the health and growth of thousands of children are at imminent risk of being irreversibly affected by the climate crisis, urging the international community to heed this warning.
Across Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, 7.4 million children are experiencing child food poverty, with over 2 million subsisting on extremely poor diets comprising at most two food groups. The organisation said the drought has only worsened this situation, decimating crops and livestock and depleting water resources. UNICEF says vulnerable children are bearing the brunt of these climate shocks, which significantly reduce the quantity, diversity, and quality of available food, impairing childcare and disrupting access to clean water, thus increasing the risk of life-threatening diseases like diarrhea.
UNICEF advocates for innovative collaboration, ideas, and financing to mitigate these severe consequences, adding that Initiatives such as the mother-led care groups in Zimbabwe and the large-scale multi-sectoral nutrition programme in Zambia exemplify how community engagement can support children and families. Strengthening national social protection systems is also crucial in helping families build resilience to future shocks and recover from current emergencies, added Kadilli.
Investment in resilience and innovation is paramount, according to UNICEF. Developing diverse food systems, ensuring access to clean water and sanitation services, and promoting climate-informed education and responsive healthcare are essential to safeguarding children’s well-being. UNICEF calls for urgent acceleration and scale-up of lifesaving programmes across the region to curb the rising tide of child malnutrition.
