UNICEF: One in four children faces food poverty

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has announced that one in four children under the age of five are facing severe food poverty, putting them at risk of facing malnutrition that threatens their lives.

According to a UNICEF report, 27 percent of children under the age of five, equal to 181 million children, receive less than two meals out of the eight meals recognized by the organization, a level that the organization lists as severe food poverty.

Another part of the report says that if children do not get the necessary nutrition, there is a risk of them becoming underweight, a very serious form of malnutrition.

"When underweight is severe, it is 12 times more likely to die," Harriet Torlesse, one of the authors of the report, told the media.

More than two-thirds of the 181 million children living in extreme food poverty live in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, with 20 countries accounting for 65 percent of children living in extreme food poverty.

Food poverty in Gaza Palestine has greatly increased since the illegal Israeli regime launched brutal attacks against the Strip.