A recent nutritional survey of the Afar region has found that malnutrition and death rates among children have increased significantly in the last four months. In the capital of Asyaita, 36 children have died; acute malnutrition in the region is at six percent, and global malnutrition is 30 percent, both above critical levels according to local aid agencies. The report noted that a third of Afar’s children are stunted. A severe drought has contributed to a sharp decline in both the amount and quality of food, and a lack of adequate health services has left the primarily pastoralist inhabitants of Afar unprepared to deal with the increased incidence of malnutrition-related diseases.
