The current global food crisis is having a marked effect on children under two years, with many children ending up undernourished. World leaders have been warned that if this situation is not reversed, it will greatly affect the health and quality of the young population, and make most millennium development goals difficult to achieve.

The 2010 Global Hunger Index

A new report containing the Global Hunger Index for 2010 calls for urgent attention to promoting child nutrition if the world is to solve the challenge of global hunger and its impacts.

The report produced by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Welthungerhilfe, and Concern Worldwide says that hunger affecting pregnant mothers and children under two years is the leading global hunger challenge today.

Marie Ruel, the Director of IFPRI’s Poverty, Health and Nutrition division and co-author of the report told journalists at the release of the report on Monday that malnutrition among children being witnessed has lifelong implications that can harm the health, productivity, and earning potential of the future generation.

The Global Hunger Index scores countries based on three equally weighted indicators: the proportion of people who are undernourished, the proportion of children under five who are underweight, and the child mortality rate.  The biggest contributor to the global score is child under nutrition, which accounts for almost half of the score.

Interactive map showing the hunger index of different countries

“To improve their scores, many countries must accelerate progress in reducing child malnutrition. Considerable research shows that the window of opportunity for improving nutrition spans from conception to age two.  After age two, the negative effects of undernutrition are largely irreversible,” said Marie in a teleconference, calling for increasing government focus on child nutrition in their food security, health and agriculture programmes.

The report shows that the burden of child under nutrition could be cut by 25-36 percent by providing universal preventive health services and nutrition interventions for children under two and their mothers during pregnancy and lactation.

“The health of women, specifically mothers, is crucial to reducing child malnutrition.  Mothers who were poorly nourished as girls tend to give birth to underweight babies, perpetuating the cycle of undernutrition. Nutrition interventions should be targeted towards girls and women throughout the life cycle and especially as adolescents before they become pregnant,” noted Welthungerhilfe chairperson Bärbel Dieckmann.

Marrie says while there are differences between countries and regions, lack of proper nutrients or hidden hunger still constitutes much of the child malnutrition challenge.

Report’s Recommendations

• target interventions where they will do the most good – among pregnant and breastfeeding women and children in their first two years of life;
• address the underlying causes of undernutrition, including poverty, gender inequality, and conflict;
• engage, empower, and support those working at the local level to improve nutrition;
• and make nutrition, especially for young children, a political priority.

The Global Hunger Index is calculated for 122 developing and transition countries for which data on the three components of hunger are available. Twenty-nine countries have levels of hunger that are “extremely alarming” or “alarming.” Most of these countries are in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

According to the report titled The Challenge of Hunger: Focus on the Crisis of Child Under nutrition, Sub-Sahara Africa reduced its hunger index by 14%, Asia by 26%, while Caribbean countries like Brazil managed to reduce their hunger index by 40%.

Video of IFPRI Klaus Von Grebmer talking about the Global Hunger Index

The report notes that in South Asia, the low nutritional, educational, and social status of women is among the major factors that contribute to a high prevalence of malnutrition in children under five, while low government effectiveness, conflict, political instability, and high rates of HIV and AIDS are among the major factors that lead to high child mortality and a high proportion of people who cannot meet their calorie requirements in Sub-Sahara Africa.

In some countries like Burundi, Madagascar, and Malawi, the report states that about half of the children are stunted (low height for age) due to poor nutrition.

“Conflict, disease, inequality, poor governance, and gender discrimination are factors that can push a country’s level of hunger higher than what would be expected based on its income. In contrast, pro-poor economic growth, strong agricultural performance, and increasing gender equity can reduce hunger below what would be expected based on income,” the report notes.

“Ensuring appropriate and adequate nutrition during the first 1,000 days is absolutely critical,” said Concern Worldwide CEO Tom Arnold, adding that focus on child under nutrition by governments and international funding agencies is one effective way of solving the global hunger problem.

He welcomed the prioritization of food and security by many African governments under the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Porgramme, as well as a recent international effort to improve child nutrition headed by the US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton as good steps in the right direction.

The Global Hunger Index 2010 report was released Monday ahead of the World Food Day celebrations to be marked on October 16th.

The 2010 Global Hunger Index Report

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2010 Global Hunger Index: Facts and Findings: Sub-Saharan Africa

• Burundi, Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and Eritrea have the greatest levels of hunger.
• Angola, Chad, and Somalia have the highest under-five mortality rates at 20 percent or more.
• More than 50 percent of people in Burundi, the Comoros, the DRC, and Eritrea are undernourished.
• In Burundi, Madagascar, and Malawi, 53 percent of children are stunted (low height for their age); in Ethiopia and Rwanda, the figure stands at 51 percent; and in Niger, 47 percent of children are stunted.
• More than one-third (34 percent) of Mali’s children are stunted, and 11 percent suffer from wasting (low weight for one’s height). Stunting levels were nearly the same in 1996, and the prevalence of wasting has more than doubled.
• Based on the 1990 and 2010 GHI scores, the DRC has experienced the greatest deterioration in hunger, largely because of conflict and political instability. The DRC also has the highest proportion of undernourished people—three-quarters of the population—and one of the highest child mortality rates in the world.

By Gerald Businge