Child food poverty describes children who survive on a deprived diet such that they eat only two or more food groups,” lead author Harriet Torlesse of the new UNICEF report, published late Wednesday, told AFP.
“It’s amazing in this day and age we know what to do.”
UNICEF recommends that children eat five of the eight main food groups each day: breast milk; grains, roots, roots and herbs; pulses, nuts and seeds; milk; meat, poultry and fish;
But about 440 million children under the age of five living in 100 or more low-income countries live in food poverty, meaning they don’t get enough of the five food groups every day.
Of these, 181 million suffer from food poverty, consuming at least two food groups.
This lack of nutrition can lead to an abnormally delicate condition that can lead to death.
Even if these children survive and grow up, “they will definitely not develop. Therefore, they lack education in school,” Torlesse explained.
“As you get older, it becomes more difficult to earn a good income, and this perpetuates the cycle of poverty from generation to generation,” the nutritionist said.
“If you think about all these critical systems that are important for brain function, heart and immune system, development, protection against disease, they all depend on vitamins, minerals and proteins.”
