Save the Children issued a new report today called "A Life Free from Hunger: Tackling Child Malnutrition." The aid agency warns that not enough is being done to tackle the global malnutrition crisis that puts small children at risk of death or lifelong physical and mental damage.
The report states, "Every hour of every day, 300 children die because of malnutrition." This despite the fact the world has enough food to feed everyone and prevent malnutrition.
The East Africa famine of 2011 is the most visible example of deadly malnutrition. The report though says that more children suffer each year from chronic malnutrition, the kind not always associated with drastic emergencies like East Africa.
Carolyn Miles, the president of Save the Children, says, "The world can no longer afford to wait until visibly emaciated children grab headlines to inspire the action these children need and deserve. Unfortunately for millions of the world’s chronically malnourished children, permanent damage to their physical and intellectual development is not as obvious, and so it’s too often overlooked."
Malnutrition is the cause of 2.6 million child deaths each year around the globe. For children who survive malnutrition, they face lifelong stunted growth both mentally and physically. The report says, if current trends continue, that 450 million children around the world will be impacted by stunting in the next 15 years.
The report says that growing more food is not the answer to the malnutrition crisis. Enough food exists now to rescue the world's children. What is needed is more will and a greater commitment on the part of world leaders to fight child malnutrition.
Special foods like plumpy'nut could be more widely distributed to save children from severe malnutrition. Aid agencies often lack the resources to distribute foods to children because there is low funding from the international community.
The report says, "Leaders of rich countries need to provide more and better funding for nutrition to ensure the success of nutrition programmes on the ground. The amount of funding committed is generally an indicator of the level of political commitment."
Ending child malnutrition makes economic sense as well. Save the Children says, "Malnutrition costs many developing nations an estimated 2-3 percent of their GDP, extends the cycle of poverty, and impedes global economic growth at a critical time."
Save the Children wants to rally world leaders to address this crisis which threatens world stability. So far that record is not encouraging. Save the Children refers to President Obama's 2009 Food Security initiative "which inspired $22 billion in pledges at the G8 and G20 meetings. Yet, only 3 percent of these pledges and less than 1 percent of pledges fulfilled to date have targeted nutrition."
For more information please visit Save the Children.
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