Save the Children says about 1.12 billion children globally or 48% of the world’s children are unable to afford a balanced diet.
Save the Children, releasing new data on the eve of the Nutrition for Growth (N4G) summit in Paris [1 & 2].
Hikes in food prices combined with the increasing cost of living around the world has forced millions of families to eat less adequate, less balanced and less diverse food, putting child development and wellbeing at risk, said the aid agency.
Save the Children analysed the cost of a healthy diet – defined by the World Health Organization as adequate, balanced, moderate and diverse – in 167 countries for which data was available and found that nearly half of the children in these countries are in families that can’t afford these basics in their communities.
The situation was particularly bad for children in low- and lower-middle income countries, with more than two in every three children – 68% – unable to afford a healthy diet.
The relatively high cost of nutritious foods is one of the greatest obstacles to giving children a healthy diet, said Save the Children. When income is limited, families tend to prioritize the frequency of feeding and fuller stomachs over the quality of foods for young children.
Mayra Alejandra Obregon Ocoro, 29, from Colombia, is a National Youth Coordinator for the Scaling Up Nutrition Civil Society Movement (SUN CSN), and is attending the Paris summit.
She said “the situation faced by nearly half of the world’s children who cannot afford a balanced diet is alarming and reflects a global food crisis that we cannot ignore. In Colombia, a country with deep social inequalities, many children and young people suffer from malnutrition and do not have access to adequate food. Poverty and rising food prices have led families to prioritize quantity over quality, resulting in diets high in carbohydrates and poor in essential nutrients”.
“It is critical that leaders attending the N4G summit commit to taking concrete and sustainable actions. I hope they will focus on implementing policies that reduce the cost of healthy food, promote local agriculture, and ensure equitable distribution of resources.”
Sohanur Rahman, 28, Bangladesh, a national Youth Coordinator for the Scaling Up Nutrition Civil Society Movement, and who is attending the Paris summit said:
“In my country Bangladesh, I have seen firsthand how rising food prices, economic inequality, and climate-induced disasters including extreme weather events like floods push families into food insecurity, forcing children to rely on cheap, nutrient-poor diets”.
“At the N4G summit in Paris, leaders must commit to transformative policies that make nutritious food affordable and accessible for all. This includes strengthening social protection programs, supporting small-scale farmers, and investing in climate-resilient agriculture to safeguard food security against climate disasters.”
Hannah Stephenson, Save the Children’s Global Nutrition Lead who is currently in Paris for the N4G Summit, said:
“The N4G summit is a critical opportunity for the international community to drive progress against malnutrition, putting nutrition at the center of a sustainable development agenda – which in a world where aid cuts are becoming the norm, is more crucial than ever”.
“Healthy diets play a critical role in the prevention of malnutrition, which can have life-long consequences for children. However, they can also be less affordable than unhealthy diets, with globally, nearly half of the world’s children unable to afford a balanced diet”.
“There is an urgent need for collective action to address malnutrition in all its forms—. The health and well-being of millions of children depend on our sustained efforts.”
Save the Children is calling on leaders at the N4G Summit in Paris to strengthen the transition towards sustainable food systems, promote equitable access to nutritious diets, strengthen health systems to make them resilient and increase universal health coverage, strengthen social protection systems and leave no one behind, and empower women while placing them at the heart of nutrition.
We call on leaders to commit to integrating nutrition outcomes into a wide range of sectors including environment and climate. By prioritizing evidence-based policies, increasing financial commitments, and fostering multi-sectoral collaboration, only then can we drive meaningful progress toward ending malnutrition.
Rel/Adamu Yusuf
