UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 9 (Xinhua) -- A nutrition crisis is threatening the lives and future of thousands of children in Mali, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) warned Monday.
An estimated 165,000 children are expected to suffer from severe acute malnutrition across the country in 2018, a UNICEF report said.
"Behind these figures are the lives of the most vulnerable and forgotten girls and boys in Mali," said UNICEF Representative Lucia Elmi in a press release.
"We must provide life-saving treatment and ensure each and every one of these children can fully recover. At the same time, we need to invest in the critical first 1,000 days of the lives of children to reduce the risk of acute malnutrition from occurring in the first place."
The rate of acute malnutrition among children under five has reached critical levels in the conflict-affected areas of Timbuktu and Gao, while the national rate also remains very high.
Since the 2012 political and security crisis in Mali, violence and instability have led to displacements of population and disruption of social services in the north of the country, with detrimental impact on the nutritional status of the most vulnerable girls and boys.
