The Dhaka Times Desk Every year in different countries of the world especially children die due to malnutrition. This death rate is not low at all. While the United Nations has repeatedly prioritized children, many children are dying in our country due to malnutrition. In various countries including Bangladesh, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, malnutrition is blamed in most cases as the cause of child death.
According to a study, more than 500 million children under the age of five are at serious risk of malnutrition. And 300 children are dying every hour due to malnutrition in the world. 2.6 million children die every year due to food shortage alone. 80 percent of malnourished children live in just 20 countries. Its rate is highest in five developing and poverty-stricken countries. 48 percent of children in India, 43 percent in Bangladesh and Nigeria, 42 percent in Pakistan and 24 percent in Peru are malnourished.
This picture has emerged in the survey titled 'A Life Free from Hunger' by global service organization Safe the Children. The organization has identified global food price hike, food crisis and poverty as the reasons for this. According to a report based on the survey, these malnourished children survive, but their physical and mental development is significantly hindered. Not getting enough food will not eliminate nutritional deficiencies even in the next 15 years. As a result, they cannot become fully functional, cannot show much efficiency in working life, cannot contribute properly to the national income, and even their reproductive capacity decreases. Analysis of the results of the survey showed that among these malnourished children, 1 crore 70 lakh are severely malnourished. As they themselves suffer from various ailments, they also live as a 'burden' in the family, society or the world. The survey also said that in 20 poor and developing countries where children suffer from malnutrition, most of the families do not have enough food for their children, such as milk, fish and meat, not to mention even the necessary vegetables. Also, since the food shortage is not met, most of the families in these countries do not think of sending their children to school. As a result, these children are deprived of education.
Case studies of some children in Bangladesh have also been presented in the survey report. In the case of a five-year-old child named Rupa of Madhubagh, Dhaka, it was said that her weight was only two kg, where she was supposed to be five kg. This situation happened due to lack of sufficient food. Rupa's mother Antara said that her husband earns Tk 300 a day by driving a rickshaw. He has to pay 3000 taka per month only for house (one room tin house) rent. Similarly, some similar studies from Nigeria, Kenya and India are also highlighted. In particular, it has been noted that lack of rain in Kenya and neighboring countries increases food shortages. And 97 percent of poor families in Nigeria don't even bother to buy good food.
According to Safe the Children, recent food shortages have exacerbated the crisis. The organization's chief executive, Justin Forseth, said that the number of children suffering from malnutrition has increased even though the infant mortality rate has recently decreased. In 1990, where 12 million children under the age of five died annually in the world, in 2011 this number reached 7.6 million. Although this news is happy, the number of malnourished children has increased at a comparatively high rate. Identifying hunger or malnutrition as a silent killer, Save the Children has called on UK Prime Minister David Cameron to hold a 'World Hunger Summit' to coincide with the 2012 Olympic Games. According to the organization, if the developed world does not play a role in eliminating food shortages in these countries and reducing global food prices, we will have to wait for a 'crippled' world in the future. FAO, World Bank and other developed countries have also been called to increase allocation to eliminate malnutrition. Guardian/BBC/IB Times.
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