Shahkrit Yamnarm joins UNICEF Thailand to save lives of malnourished children during COVID-19
BANGKOK, 30 August 2021 – Famous Thai actor Shahkrit Yamnarm is fronting a UNICEF campaign to mobilize support for the millions of severely malnourished children worldwide, as the situation has worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a powerful video released on social media and local television channels, Shahkrit appeals to the Thai public to join UNICEF in saving children from dying from severe acute malnutrition. With every 300-baht donation, UNICEF is able to provide 24 sachets of ready-to-use therapeutic food to feed malnourished children. Donors will receive a face mask case for storage as a gift.
Watch Shahkrit’s emergency appeal at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqX3Diyq1gQ.
To donate 300 baht, text 300 via SMS to the number 4712300 until 31 October 2021.
“Every second, a child is at risk of dying from severe acute malnutrition,” said Shahkrit. “As a father, I am deeply concerned about these children who are facing this difficult situation and urgently need help especially during COVID-19. You can help save the lives of malnourished children by making a donation, and I urge everyone to lend a helping hand.”
Undernutrition leads to irreversible damage to children’s growth and development and accounts for nearly half of all deaths in children under 5, according to the World Health Organization. Globally, an estimated 2 million children under 5 died from severe acute malnutrition in 2019, and 149 million children under 5 were estimated to be stunted or too short for age while 45 million were estimated to be wasted or too thin for their height in 2020.
The pandemic continues to disrupt all of the systems related to good nutrition across the world, especially in Africa which has seen the sharpest rise in hunger and faces ongoing COVID-19 restrictions. UNICEF estimates that more than 100,000 children in Ethiopia’s northern region of Tigray could suffer life-threatening severe acute malnutrition in the next 12 months, a tenfold increase to normal numbers, and that malnutrition among children under 5 is expected to quadruple in drought-afflicted southern Madagascar.
Joining the campaign are six celebrities and chefs who will share on UNICEF Thailand social media their favourite recipes with legume, which is the main ingredient in ready-to-use therapeutic food for malnutrition. They are Vanessa Race, Friend of UNICEF; Nan Hongwiwat, chef and founder of KRUA.CO; Pruek Sumpantaworaboot, Iron Chef Thailand; Chananchida “Pattie” Pongpetch, junior chef; Pawarit “Mark” Parnichprapai, chef; and Samaphol “Kai” Piyapongsiri, DJ and TV show host.
Channel 7HD will be supporting UNICEF in strengthening awareness of the campaign. Corporate partner supporting the campaign is Shopee, the leading e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia and Taiwan, in celebration of its iconic campaign ‘Shopee 9.9 Super Shopping Day’. The online shopping platform will provide live airtime for Shahkrit to talk about the situation of malnourished children on Shopee Live on 17 September from 16.00 – 17.00 hrs. Other corporates such as VGI PLC; Bangkok Metro Networks Ltd, Bangkok Expressway and Metro PCL; Golf Channel Thailand (GCT Media Co., Ltd); Tencent Thailand Co., Ltd; and Supatra Real Estate Co., Ltd will be providing media space for the campaign.
