MOGADISHU, Somalia 

Around 63% of children in Somalia, or two in three, have experienced severe food poverty in early childhood, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said Tuesday. 

UNICEF said up to 50% of children are more likely to experience wasting -- a life-threatening form of malnutrition.

Among children aged 6 - 23 months, just 1 in 5 are fed eggs, fish, poultry or meat, and 2 in 3 consume zero vegetables or fruits, it said in a statement.

“Child food poverty is a serious issue in Somalia that has been compounded by the cycle of climate-induced crises and conflicts,” said UNICEF representative Wafaa Saeed. “It makes children vulnerable to both chronic as well as severe malnutrition. Together with the government and other partners, we need to do more to improve the food system for young children and enable families to have access to a wide variety of locally available foods, especially fish, meat, fruits, and vegetables, which are currently limited in their diets.”

Despite improvements, recurrent climatic shocks such as droughts and floods, conflict and insecurity, disease outbreaks and widespread poverty continue to exacerbate humanitarian needs in the Horn of Africa.

An estimated 4 million people face crisis or emergency food insecurity and 1.7 million children face acute malnutrition in Somalia, including 430,000 who are likely to be severely malnourished in 2024.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said $1.6 billion in funding is required for the 2024 Humanitarian Response Plan (HNRP) in Somalia but just $507 million had been received as of Aug. 2.

Of the 181 million children living in severe food poverty globally, 65% reside in 20 countries, including Somalia, where more than 80% of caregivers reported their child had been unable to eat for an entire day while; around 64 million affected children are in South Asia, and 59 million are in Sub-Saharan Africa, according to UNICEF.

Somalia tops that list in Eastern and Southern Africa.