Victims of forgotten crisis

 Victims of forgotten crisis: As donors today pledged more than $670 million in emergency aid, we look at the plight of children - particularly the very young - who are a...

Victims of forgotten crisis

As donors today pledged more than $670 million in emergency aid, we look at the plight of children - particularly the very young - who are are at risk of illness and death in this famine-hit area.

It's been called the "forgotten crisis". While the Syria and Yemen conflicts have been grabbing global headlines, the growing humanitarian problem in the Lake Chad region of Africa has almost gone under the radar.

Huge numbers of people could die of hunger in Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon unless urgent action is taken.

And children - particularly the very young - are bearing the brunt of the crisis.

About 500,000 under-fives are suffering from severe acute malnutrition - the most extreme and visibly obvious form. It is a major cause of death in this age group.

Today donors pledged more than $670 million in emergency aid for people threatened by famine in the Lake Chad region. A special humanitarian conference in Oslo, Norway, said the money was aimed at helping more than 10 million people.

Famine began last year in the northeast of Nigeria, where the government is fighting Boko Haram and millions of people have been forced from their homes. That - combined with Lake Chad drying up due to climate change - has caused a massive and complex humanitarian problem.

"This is a crisis of forgotten children," said Kathryn Taetzsch, the Lake Chad Basin response director for the charity World Vision. "Not only have children been forced to endure atrocities of enormous proportions but many are also suffering the effects of hunger and illnesses."

For months, Theirworld has been calling for a humanitarian response that includes safe spaces for the youngest children caught up in the crisis and safe, quality education for all children.

Theirworld's #5for5 campaign on early childhood development has also been driving home the message that nurturing care in emergencies - including the provision of safe spaces and nutrition - is vital for children under five.

Vulnerable babies and young children caught up in conflicts and crises can suffer from psychological trauma, toxic stress and poor brain development unless their needs are prioritised in humanitarian response plans.

"In all types of emergencies, babies and young children are especially vulnerable, with the highest rates of illness and death of any age group," says a new briefing published by Theirworld.