News
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Malnutrition ‘puts 450m children at risk of stunting’
* Save the Children says 38 percent of Pakistani families forced to cut back on food following year of rocketing food prices
LONDON/ISLAMABAD: A new report from Save the Children on Wednesday warned that about 450 million children will be physically and mentally stunted over the next 15 years unless the world takes some serious action to tackle malnutrition.
The British charity said every hour, 300 children die due to a lack of nutrients in their diet, while those who survive are permanently damaged in a way that impacts on their lives and the economic prospects of their countries.
The problem has become urgent due to increasing food prices, economic uncertainty, climate change and demographic shifts.
In Asia, for example, where 100 million children are stunted, the report predicts that climatic changes to food yields will result in seven million more stunted children by 2050. Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, Nigeria and Peru account for more than half of the world’s malnourished children, according to a report launched on Wednesday.
Malnutrition is the underlying cause of a third of child deaths in the world (2.6 million each year), while in Pakistan, it accounts for 35 percent of the deaths of children under the age of five.
Dr Qudsia Uzma of Save the Children said that after a year of soaring food prices, 38 percent of surveyed Pakistani families claim cutting back on food while one in five parents (22 percent) complained that their children did not have enough food to eat. Widespread flooding destroyed crops and livelihoods, which caused even further food price hikes forcing poor families to cut back on food.
Now, nationally, 58 percent of households are considered food-insecure with Sindh being the worst-affected.
Rising food prices and malnutrition are putting future global progress on child mortality at risk. This trend is especially alarming in Asia, where more than a third of children are stunted.
India holds the highest rate of stunting amongst children, at a shocking 48 percent. Pakistan is not far behind with 43.6 percent of its children stunted.
Save the Children Deputy Country Director Dr Amanullah Khan warns that if no concrete action is taken, Pakistan will have the highest percentage of stunted children over the next 15 years. afp/staff report
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk