Chad climate disaster leaves record 2.1 million people hungry
Health workers prepare to examine children showing signs of malnutrition at the nutrition department of Notre Dame des Apotres hospital in N’Djamena, Chad September 26, 2022. REUTERS FILE PHOTO
N’DJAMENA — Severe drought followed by the worst floods in 30 years have led to rocketing food prices and left a record 2.1 million people in Chad acutely hungry, according to United Nations agencies.
As a result of the climate disaster, 10% of all children under five are affected by severe malnutrition, and one in three will suffer from stunted growth, said the United Nations children’s fund.
On a bed at the Notre Dame des Apotres Hospital in the capital N’Djamena, Fatimé Mahamat Idriss feeds her gaunt toddler through a feeding tube.
When the harvest failed, her husband sought work in a gold mine in the north, leaving no food for their three children.
Chad’s total population is 16.4 million, according to the World Bank.
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