Malnutrition means not getting enough food or the right balance of food. It’s a big – and unnecessary – problem across the world. Around one in ten people today are malnourished, in a world which can produce enough food for all.
Malnutrition and life-threatening hunger happen because of poverty, lack of jobs, dirty or inaccessible water, climate change, conflict, poor mental health and gender inequality. After declining for a decade, world hunger is on the rise again.
And while all of us need the right amount of good food, some people, at certain times, need more than others, so if that doesn’t happen, they’re likely to suffer more.
The first 1,000 days between conception and a child’s second birthday is one example. It’s the time that a new human being should be building a strong immune system, which ensures healthy physical and intellectual development.
Every day, more than 2,000 children die from hunger-related causes, typically in places where parents and local health workers lack the tools to diagnose malnutrition before it is too late.
Around two out of three children with severe acute malnutrition never receive help because the diagnosis comes too late.
Tackling malnutrition and life-threatening hunger has wide-reaching, positive consequences for improving the health of children and adults alike.