NUTRITION

The challenge

NUTRITION

Millions of children in developing countries suffer from a series of health problems whose root cause is the same: malnutrition. Many children living in poverty do not have access to enough, or adequate, food to have normal growth and development. Millions of them often suffer from diseases, such as diarrhea, which deplete the nutrients they consume.

Around 35% of the deaths of children under 5 years old are due to factors related to nutrition. About a third of undernourished children who survive malnutrition suffer from stunting, which often hinders neurological development and learning, and results in the inability to work and earn a living.

In pregnant women, malnutrition increases the likelihood of dying from complications during pregnancy and giving birth to a child underweight. Babies born with less than normal weight are at risk of serious infectious diseases, chronic diseases, as well as physical and cognitive disorders. The result is, therefore, a vicious circle in which the coming generations of poor people are vulnerable to death, disease, cognitive disorders, lower productivity due to malnutrition and continued poverty.

The majority of undernourished people live in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Two-thirds of all children who suffer from stunting in the world live in ten countries that are located in these two regions. Even in these countries, however, the majority of people affected by malnutrition do not show symptoms of extreme hunger or starvation. This crisis of "disguised hunger" is invisible in the eyes of some of the policymakers, which means that, often, national nutrition programs do not have the required funding.

Other challenges that increase malnutrition include volatility in access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food; the low agricultural productivity; the effects of climate change; the low levels of sanitation and poor hygiene, as well as the little awareness and understanding of what a healthy diet is among the people most at risk of malnutrition.

For more Info: Wikipedia