It has been more than 20 years since the Convention of the Rights of the Child recognizes the right of every child to an adequate standard of living for their physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social development, in addition to recognizing their right to life and survival.
Despite all this, malnutrition remains one of the main threats to the survival, health, growth and capacity development of millions of children, as well as to the progress of their countries.
More recently, in 2000, 189 countries agreed, also within the framework of the United Nations, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). These are 8 objectives broken down into concrete and measurable goals that must be achieved in 2015, in order to end poverty and hunger and boost human development.
The Objectives are far from being achieved, but let's see what the figures and countries are, data referring to the problem of child malnutrition in the world, which is often spoken in the abstract without knowing very well where and to what extent it is.
- The ten countries with the highest numbers of children with chronic malnutrition are: India, China, Nigeria, Pakistan, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Philippines and Tanzania (from highest to lowest number of cases).
- In nine countries of the world, more than 50% of its child population under five children suffers from chronic malnutrition. These countries are: Afghanistan, Yemen, Guatemala, Timor-Leste, Burundi, Madagascar, Malawi, Ethiopia and Rwanda (from highest to lowest percentage).
- Guatemala, with 54% of chronic malnutrition, is at levels similar to those of some African and Asian countries.
- In only ten countries, 60% of cases of acute malnutrition are recorded. These countries are: India, Nigeria, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, Egypt and the Philippines (from highest to lowest number of cases).
- Some 129 million children living in developing countries have a weight below adequate: almost one in four.
- Every year 19 million children are born with low weight in developing countries. One in six newborns weighs less than 2,500 grams at birth.
- It is estimated that malnutrition is related to a third of the deaths of children under five, that is, with a third of the 7.6 million children who lost their lives in 2010 due to preventable causes.
We recall that UNICEF is carrying out the "Donate 1 day" campaign to combat child malnutrition. The problem is serious, but it is proven that there are feasible and profitable actions to help millions of children and that these data on child malnutrition in the world Don't be so bleak.
