A QUARTER of the world’s children under five years old have severe food poverty, with many of them in Africa, the United Nations warned today.

A report by UN’s children agency Unicef said that 181 million children under five, or 27 per cent of the world’s youngest population, live in severe food poverty — defined as consuming nothing in a day or, at best, two out of eight food groups.

Africa’s population of more than 1.3 billion people is one of the most affected mainly due to conflict, climate crises and rising food prices.