About 10 million people in Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador, or 30% of the total population of the three countries, are in need of humanitarian aid, several senior UN officials said on Tuesday.
They call for an increase in donations for these Central American countries.
Food insecurity is growing in these countries already affected by chronic violence, the consequences of hurricanes, global warming and the Covid-19 pandemic, said Deputy Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs Mark Lowcock during a videoconference on the humanitarian situation in the region.
"One in three displaced persons […] is a child"
"Today, an estimated 10 million people - or 30% of the total population in the three countries - are in need of humanitarian assistance," he said.
"In the region of Central America alone, the number of people literally heading for famine has quadrupled, from two to eight million," noted David Beasley, head of the World Food Program.
According to current projections, "millions of families simply will not be able to feed themselves" this year in the three countries, estimated the American ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, referring to "a humanitarian crisis".
“We must do more to meet the scale and urgency of the need, and share the burden more,” she added.
“One in three displaced people in the region is a child,” also recalled the director of the UN agency for children Unicef, Henrietta Fore.
More and more migrants, who include unaccompanied minors, are trying to reach the United States via Mexico.
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