Understanding UNICEF’s The State of the World’s Children 2019
By Aaron Yin
Our world is rapidly changing, so too are our nutritional profiles. Twenty years ago, malnourishment was often associated with hunger and famine. Today, malnutrition takes on a different face.
While the number of stunted children has been predominantly falling around the world, the number of overweight and obese children is growing rapidly across all low, middle and high income countries. The State of the World’s Children 2019 report finds that at least 1 in 3 children – or over 200 million is either undernourished or overweight. Additionally, at least half of all children under five – or over 340 million suffer from hidden hunger caused by a lack of essential vitamins and nutrients.
These three forms of malnutrition (undernutrition, hidden hunger and overweight) are interwoven and can often co-exist in a single country or within a single household, contributing to what is known as the triple burden of malnutrition. They often share a common cause, that is, the poor quality of children’s diets.
What has led to this shift in the world’s health profile?
Globalisation
We are now more connected than ever before, which means we now have access to more food than ever before. Unfortunately, our desire for more palatable and tasty food has led to an increased market for junk food and fast food.
Urbanisation
As people move into cities, the way they eat and live changes. People who live in urban areas have access to more unhealthy food options, and are also constantly bombarded with unhealthy food advertisements.
Climate shocks
Climate change has been disproportionately affecting children in low-income countries. Climate related disasters such as droughts, storms and floods can impact on local agriculture production, meaning these families have less access to adequate food intake.
Why does all of this matter?
According to the report, adequate nutrition is essential for the growth and development of children all the way to adulthood. Consuming a healthy and diverse range of food early in life can improve cognitive function, improve the immune system, prevent obesity and even reduce the risk of death later in life.
Another important point worth noting is that malnutrition disproportionately affects those living in the poorest and most marginalised communities. Poor families tend to have access to low-quality food that costs less, putting disadvantaged children around the world at risk of all forms of malnutrition. Malnutrition in-turns perpetuates poverty. Therefore good nutrition has the ability to break the vicious intergenerational cycle of poverty and malnutrition.
Compared to 20 years ago, more children and young people are surviving through to adulthood, however they are not thriving during crucial developmental stages of life. Good nutrition is a fundamental building block in every child’s life, from optimum health, to learning in school and preparing children for adulthood and employment.
To address these global health issues, UNICEF has put forward the following agenda:
1. Empower families, children and young people to demand nutritious food.
2. Drive food suppliers to do the right thing for children.
3. Build healthy food environments for all children.
4. Mobilise supportive systems – health, water and sanitation, education and social protection – to scale up nutrition results for all children.
5. Collect analyse and use good-quality data and evidence regularly to guide action and track progress.
This article was made to summarise the key findings of UNICEF’s The State of the World’s Children 2019 report. The full report can be found here.