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UN Urges World Community to Prevent Child Hunger During Coronavirus Pandemic

VOA News

   Two United Nations agencies called on the global community Wednesday to
   prevent hunger and malnutrition among the 370 million children who are
   not receiving school meals due to the closure of schools worldwide in
   the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

   The U.N. said school meals are particularly vital for girls, especially
   those in poor countries, whose struggling parents often send them to
   school to get meals, allowing them to avoid domestic responsibilities
   or early marriage.

   "For millions of children around the world, the meal they get at school
   is the only meal they get in a day," said David Beasley, executive
   director of the U.N.'s World Food Program (WFP). "Without it, they go
   hungry, they risk falling sick, dropping out of'¯school and losing
   their best chance of escaping poverty. We must act now to'¯prevent the
   health pandemic from becoming a hunger catastrophe."

   The U.N. said children in impoverished countries also are missing out
   on health and nutrition services at school, such as vitamin supplements
   and vaccinations.

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