1 in 4 young children living in severe food poverty: UNICEF

UNICEF has warned that a significant section of young children worldwide lack access to proper nutrition.

Alarmingly, over 25% of children under five years of age live in ‘severe’ food poverty, translating to more than 180 million facing detrimental effects on their growth and development.

Harriet Torlesse, a lead writer of a new UNICEF report published late Wednesday (June 5), told AFP news agency that It is shocking in this day and age where we know what needs to be done.

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UNICEF advises that young children eat foods daily from five of eight main groups -- breast milk; grains, roots, tubers and plantains; pulses, nuts and seeds; dairy; meat, poultry and fish; eggs; vitamin A-rich fruits and vegetables; and other fruits and vegetables.

Shockingly 440 million children under five across 100 low- and middle-income countries are grappling with food poverty. This means their diets lack the essential variety they need, hindering their growth and development.

Of those, 181 million are experiencing severe food poverty, eating from at most two food groups.

"Children who eat just two food groups per day -- for example, rice and some milk -- are up to 50 per cent more likely to experience severe forms of malnutrition," UNICEF chief Catherine Russell said in a statement accompanying the report.

Malnutrition can lead to emaciation- a state of being abnormally thin that can be deadly.

"When these children are adults, they find it difficult to earn a decent income, and that turns the cycle of poverty from one generation to the next," the nutrition expert said.

The burden of severe child food poverty falls disproportionately on a small number of countries. Somalia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, and Afghanistan are particularly affected, with over half of their young children (63%, 54%, 53% and 49%) facing this challenge.

While the data for wealthy countries is not available, children in low-income households there also suffer from nutritional gaps.

The UN Children's Fund report says that the current circumstances in the Gaza Strip, where Israel is waging a war against Hamas militant group,have brought the food and health systems to collapse. It showed about nine in 10 children were living in severe food poverty.

The report further called for a change of the global food processing system, stating that sugary drinks and ultra-processed foods were being aggressively marketed.

“While these cheap foods may be tempting because they fill stomachs quickly with high calories, salt, and fat, they're like empty calories. These lack the essential vitamins and minerals children need for healthy growth and development,” explains Harriet Torlesse.

(With inputs from agencies)