OTTAWA – The head of UNICEF’s Canadian branch is urging his country to do more to help starving children in Africa.
David Morley is making the appeal as a new report by the UN children’s agency decried the rising levels of starvation and malnutrition among the children under the age of five in many of the world’s troubled regions.
Morley echoed the message of the report, which is: without extra money, grinding persistent poverty will ultimately cause political instability, especially in East and West Africa.
UNICEF is appealing for $1.28 billion in donations this year, which is down nine per cent from its funding requirement last year.
However, a much bigger slice of its proposed spending is now being eaten up by battling persistent starvation among Third World kids.
Nutrition support for children has increased 47 per cent this year and now accounts for 30 per cent of UNICEF’s total spending requirements, up from 19 per cent a year earlier.
