FAO and WHO Plan to Tackle Malnutrition Head On By Jomo Kwame Sundaram Rome — Eight hundred and five million of the worlds people are chronically hungry, according to estimates by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). But this figure represents only a fraction of the worlds population whose lives have been blighted by a lack of adequate nutrition. Malnutrition is believed to be the underlying cause of death for 2.6 million children annually. At least two billion people do not get enough of the micronutrients – vitamins, minerals and trace elements – essential for their cognitive and physiological development, especially during early childhood. As a result, a quarter of the worlds children – the number rises to a third in developing countries – are stunted. They are unlikely to reach their full physical or intellectual potential and are vulnerable to disease due to compromised immune systems. Receiving the right nutrients in the first years of life is not only a matter of life and death, but also a major determinant of life chances, affecting the ability of the child to learn and later to work. Improving the nutrition of a child will potentially raise its future earnings by a fifth. The burden of poor nutrition on individuals and families has a cumulative economic impact. Malnutrition has been estimated to cost as much as five percent of global income – in terms of lost productivity and additional health care expenses.allafrica/stories/201411041183.html
Posted on: Sat, 22 Nov 2014 22:46:39 +0000
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