Sima* (7 months) is screened for Malnutrition by a Nutrition nurse at Save the Children's Mobile Health Clinic.

Zeba* (20) is a mother of four children who lives with her in Afghanistan and is suffering because of the worst hunger and malnutrition crisis on record that hit the country, driven by factors such as extreme drought, a decrease in humanitarian funds, and poverty. Zeba’s younger child, Sima* (7 months), needed treatment for severe acute malnutrition in Save the Children’s Mobile Health Team (MHT) clinic. Although Sima* is responding well to treatment, Zeba* still worries about how they can afford food for her other children. Her husband, Hashim* (32), is a labourer and earns 150 AFN [2 USD] daily, which is insufficient for a family of six members. She says they couldn’t afford bread most of the time, and her children go to bed hungry. Atabek Khadim / Save the Children

Have you heard of S.A.M?

2 min read

13 Jul 2022 Global

S.A.M. stands for severe acute malnutrition. Right now it is threatening the lives of 13.6m* children under the age of five around the world.

S.A.M. Ever heard of it?

It’s silent. Deadly. A child killer. It blurs your vision. Makes your stomach rumble and ache before it shrinks and goes silent. Your ribs start to jut out, your skin becomes loose and dry and starts to peel. Or your belly, feet and ankles become swollen and your skin shiny. Your muscles start to break down and then waste away. Your hair becomes brittle and thin. You lose your appetite. Become dehydrated. Exhaustion creeps over you, leaving you slow and clumsy - eventually unable to move.

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S.A.M. stands for severe acute malnutrition.

Right now it is threatening the lives of 13.6 million children under the age of five around the world. 1.7 million of these children are in Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia.

This is the worst global food crisis in decades and it's putting millions of children’s lives on the line. The combined impact of conflict, climate change, COVID-19, and the cost of rising food prices due to the conflict in the Ukraine crisis has left up to 750,000 people facing famine conditions. A further 49 million people could soon follow unless they receive immediate support. Failure to act now will prove catastrophic and could cost thousands of lives.

But for many, the treatment for S.A.M can be devastatingly simple. An 8-week course of high-nutrient peanut paste that costs just £40.

The S.A.M stopper. 500 calories of this high nutrient paste can provide a simple treatment to severe acute malnutrition for starving children.

From climate change to poverty to war, it’s time to tackle the roots of the crisis. Let’s stop S.A.M in its tracks and give children a fair chance of a future they deserve.

No child should be hungry.