Pregnant and breastfeeding mothers suffering from acute malnutrition have increased by 25% since 2020 in 12 countries at the “epicenter” of the global food crisis, UNICEF warned on Monday, highlighting the devastating consequences for their children.

Its report, based on an analysis of underweight and anemia data in nearly all countries, estimates that over a billion women and adolescent girls worldwide are either undernourished or undernourished, leading to underweight and short stature, lack of essential micronutrients and anemia. In the majority of them, in the poorest countries.

South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa account for 68% of underweight women and adolescents and 60% of those with anaemia.

Nutritional deficiencies affect women themselves and even more so their children, underlines the United Nations Children’s Fund, according to which malnutrition and insufficient nutrition “pass from generation to generation”.

Malnutrition increases the risk of neonatal mortality, but also harms “fetal development,” causing “lasting effects on children’s nutrition, growth and learning, and their future ability to meet their own needs.”

“Globally, 51 million children under the age of 2 are stunted. We estimate that in almost half of these cases, this occurs during pregnancy and the first six months of life, when the child’s nutrition is completely dependent on its mother”, the text emphasizes, which places special emphasis on pregnant women and in lactating women.

UNICEF estimates that from 2020 to 2022, the number of pregnant and lactating women suffering from acute malnutrition increased by 25%, from 5.5 to 6.9 million, in 12 countries facing a food crisis (Afghanistan, Burkina Faso , Ethiopia, Kenya, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Chad, Yemen).

“Unless the international community takes urgent action, this crisis could have long-lasting consequences for entire future generations,” warned UNICEF Director-General Catherine Russell. “To prevent child malnutrition, we must also fight against adolescent and female malnutrition.”

The agency recommends prioritizing women and girls’ access to nutritious, safe and affordable food, mandatory measures to ensure “large-scale expansion” of the availability of staples such as flour, cooking oil and salt, as well as eliminate discriminatory practices that lead to unequal distribution of food in households.