NAIROBI, 12 August 2009 (IRIN): At least 16 per cent of children under five in three southern provinces of the Central African Republic (CAR) are acutely malnourished while 6,6 percent suffer severe acute malnutrition, the UN Children’s Fund says.
The malnutrition levels, which are above the emergency thresholds of 2 per cent for severe acute malnutrition (SAM) and 15 per cent for global acute malnutrition (GAM), were found in Mambéré Kadei, Sangha Mbaéré and Lobaye provinces.
– In both the conflict-affected north and the more stable south, almost 700.000 children under five are living below acceptable standards, said Jeremy Hopkins, acting UNICEF representative in CAR, and added: – Many are moving toward the outer edge of survival.
CAR is ranked 178 out of 179 on the UN Human Development Index. One in five children dies before the age of five and fewer than half complete primary school. Only 31 percent of the population have access to adequate sanitation.
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