Malnourished children are flooding into the pediatric ward of the main hospital in Ethiopia’s Gode city as the worst drought for 40 years has forced many families to leave their homes to search for aid. Pediatrician Mohammed Amin said that numbers started to spike around five months ago. “So far, we have treated 140 malnourished children and from this four have died,” he said. “This figure is only those who came to us and get treatment and doesn’t include those in the camp.” Last year, the hospital received 188 malnourished children, but now they saw that in a single month, he said, adding that many families were arriving with several malnourished children. The Horn of Africa region is facing the driest conditions in more than four decades after three consecutive rainy seasons failed, according to the United Nations’ World Food Program (WFP).
Source: reuters.com