But solving hunger isn’t just about providing enough food. It’s about delivering the right kind of nutrients at the right time. A pregnant woman’s dietary needs, for example, will differ from those of a grown man or a growing toddler.
Even when you consume the recommended 2,100 daily calories, you can still be malnourished if your diet lacks specific vitamins, minerals, otherwise known as micronutrients. Despite incredible advances in the past two decades, malnutrition remains one of the world’s most devastating, yet solvable problems.
So what do you need to know?
1. Malnutrition is the single largest contributor to disease in the world.
Malnutrition weakens the immune system, making it harder for people to fight off everyday infections. The most common types of malnutrition result from a lack of protein and energy, as well as deficiencies in iron, Vitamin A, zinc and iodine.
2. In low-income countries, more than one-third of all deaths in children under the age of 5 are linked to poor nutrition.
Each year, an estimated 3.1 million babies and young children die from a lack of proper nutrients.
3. Malnutrition in the first 1,000 days of life can lead to irreversible stunting.
Research shows that good nutrition during the first 1,000 days of life—from a mother’s pregnancy to a child’s 2nd birthday—is crucial for physical growth and mental development. That’s why a large part of WFP’s nutrition efforts target babies and expecting mothers. Across the globe, one in four children are stunted.
4. Malnutrition is passed down through generations.
Malnourished mothers give birth to malnourished babies, who are more susceptible to illness, infection and long-term health problems, thus perpetuating an intergenerational cycle of hunger for millions of families around the world.
5. Severe acute malnutrition affects nearly 20 million preschool-age children, mostly in Africa and Southeast Asia.
It is the most extreme form of hunger.
6. Malnutrition has many causes.
As the New York Times points out, “Poverty, natural disasters, political problems, and war all contribute to conditions—even epidemics—of malnutrition and starvation, and not just in developing countries.”
7. One-third of the developing world’s population suffer from micronutrient deficiencies that cause disability, mental retardation and early death.
In low-income countries like Bangladesh, for example, Vitamin A deficiency is the leading cause of preventable blindness in children.
8. Malnutrition costs $3.5 trillion each year to the global economy.
In addition to the human toll, malnutrition has a diastrous effect on the global economy when it comes to lost productivity and health care costs, according to the United Nations Food And Agriculture Organization.
9. Malnutrition is entirely preventable.
Right now the world produces enough food for all 7 billion people on Earth to lead a healthy, active life. The problem is unequal access to resources. In fact, roughly one-third of all food produced never gets eaten; it ends up spoiled, contaminated or in the trash.
As the world’s largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) provides nourishing food for more than 80 million people each year.
Thanks to its deep field presence, WFP staffers in more than 75 countries are reaching communities threatened by malnutrition—especially women, children and people living with HIV/AIDS. By distributing ready-to-eat, fortified foods that don’t require cooking, refrigeration or sanitary water, WFP is delivering hope to families in need.
