Addis Abeba – Humanitarian institutions are raising vigilance about Ethiopia’s escalating malnutrition crisis. A report published this week by the Global Nutrition Cluster (GNC) reveals that acute malnutrition rates in some regions are “beyond the 15% critical threshold,” indicating an urgent and disastrous situation.
GNC, a coalition of 33 NGOs specializing in nutrition, reported that the stabilization centre, which provides critical care for children with severe acute malnutrition, recorded the highest mortality rates in the Gambella, Benichan Lugumuz and the Southwest Ethiopia region.
Additionally, regions such as Amhara recorded the highest nonresponse rates, reflecting an increase in children who were receiving treatment but did not show clinical improvement.
GNC also revealed a significant prevalence of edematous malnutrition, a serious condition caused by acute protein deficiency, marked by edema (swelling) of the limb, face and abdominal areas of Oromia.
However, despite the rise in malnutrition cases in Ethiopia, the GNC warns that lack of funding is critically hampering humanitarian response efforts.
“The crisis has intensified after USAID issued a halt order and disrupts important aid operations,” the report said. “As a result, most nutritional partners reported that nutritional interventions had stopped in Amhara, Oromia, Tigray, far away and in Somali regions.”
The GNC estimated that more than $107.8 million is urgently needed to save the lives of under five children under the age of five in the areas most affected in 2025.
Ethiopian Nutrition Cluster (ENC) released another report last week using data from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) that recorded a sharp rise in malnutrition cases across Ethiopia. The report revealed that the stabilization center in the Gambella region recorded the highest mortality rate at 4% due to acute malnutrition.
Additionally, the ENC has identified 603 districts across the country as malnutrition hotspots. Of these, 214 districts were categorized as priority 1 (very serious concern), priority 2 (serious concern), and priority 309 (medium concern).
The recent assessment funded by UKAID to assess acute malnutrition and childhood morbidity among children between 6 and 59 months in the Hanbera Wamena district of the Hanbera Wamena district of the West Guji Zone of the Oromia region also revealed surprising trends. The assessment reported that between January and September 2024, West Gujizone health facilities reported a total of 22,231 cases of a monthly average of 2,480 severe acute malnutrition. This is an unusually high number, given the historical trends of the zone, according to the assessment.
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Furthermore, the assessment highlights that in the Hanbera Wamena area, severe acute malnutrition cases averaged 286 between January and September 2024, with the highest incidence of 542 cases recorded in September.
Last month, Addis Standard reported that over 250,000 children in drought-affected regions in Ethiopia’s Amhara region face urgent levels of food shortage, with 92% showing signs of moderate malnutrition.
According to a report by the Amhara Public Health Institute, 43 districts in the region are affected by droughts. Among those affected most seriously are more than 10,000 residents of Buguna district in the North Wolozone, including children under the age of five.
