News & Politics
Child Food Poverty: 181 Million Children Under 5 Years Of Age Suffer Acute Food Poverty, Africa Records One-Third in the World-UNICEF
Twenty countries account for almost two-thirds (65 per cent) of the total number of children living in severe child food poverty: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, China, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, the Niger, NIGERIA, Pakistan, the Philippines, Somalia, South Africa, Uganda, the United Republic of Tanzania and Yemen.
A recent report published by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has revealed that “across the world, millions of parents and families are struggling to provide nutritious and diverse foods that young children need to reach their full potential.”
In its recent report published in June titled, “Child Food Poverty” the global body said that there is “growing inequities, conflict, and climate crises, combined with rising food prices, the overabundance of unhealthy foods, harmful food marketing strategies and poor child feeding practices, are condemning millions of children to child food poverty.”
“UNICEF has introduced the concept of child food poverty to bring dietary deprivation and poor quality diets in early childhood to the forefront of global efforts to achieve the nutrition targets of the Sustainable Development Goals.”
“UNICEF defines child food poverty as children’s inability to access and consume a nutritious and diverse diet in early childhood (i.e., the first five years of life).Child food poverty harms all children, but it is particularly damaging in early childhood, when insufficient dietary intake of essential nutrients can cause the greatest harm to child survival, physical growth and cognitive development. The consequences can last a lifetime: children deprived of good nutrition in early childhood do less well at school and have lower earning capacity in adulthood, trapping them and their families in a cycle of poverty and deprivation” the report added.
In the Northwest of Nigeria, Doctors Without Borders reported that at least, 850 children died within 24 to 48 hours of admission to their health facilities last year. MSF’s Nigeria representative, Simba Tirima said, “We are resorting to treating patients on mattresses on the floor because our facilities are full.”
Key findings include:
- Globally, one in four children are living in severe child food poverty in early childhood, amounting to 181 million children under 5 years of age. Severe child food poverty affects all regions of the world, but not equally: South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa are home to more than two-thirds (68 per cent) of the 181 million children living in severe child food poverty. Twenty countries account for almost two-thirds (65 per cent) of the total number of children living in severe child food poverty: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, China, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, the Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, Somalia, South Africa, Uganda, the United Republic of Tanzania and Yemen.
- Globally, Progress towards ending severe child food poverty is slow, but some regions and countries are proving that progress is possible and is happening. In the subset of 64 countries with trend data, there was minimal change in the percentage of children living in severe child food poverty during the last decade (34 per cent in 2012 to 31 per cent in 2022); the prevalence did not change in 32 countries and increased in 11 countries.However, in West and Central Africa, severe child food poverty fell by one quarter (42 per cent to 32 per cent). Twenty-one countries – about one in three of the 64 countries with trend data – achieved a significant reduction in severe child food poverty.
- Severe child food poverty is experienced by children belonging to poor and non-poor households, indicating that household income is not the only driver of severe child food poverty. Of the 181 million children living in severe child food poverty, about half (84 million, or 46 per cent) belong to households in the two poorest wealth quintiles, among whom limited household income is likely to be a major driver of severe child food poverty. The remaining 97 million children (54 per cent) living in severe child food poverty belong to households in the middle and two upper wealth quintiles, among whom factors other than income poverty are driving the problem.
- The global food and nutrition crisis and localized conflicts and climatic shocks are intensifying severe child food poverty, especially in fragile countries. Children living in severe child food poverty are missing out on many nutrient-rich foods, while unhealthy foods are becoming entrenched in their diets.Among children living in severe child food poverty, four out of five are fed only breastmilk and/or dairy products and/or a starchy staple, such as rice, maize or wheat. Less than 10 per cent are fed fruits and vegetables and less than 5 per cent are fed eggs, or meat, poultry and fish. Meanwhile, unhealthy foods and beverages are consumed by an alarming proportion of children living in severe child food poverty, displacing more nutritious foods from their diets. In Nepal, for example, 42 per cent of children living in severe child food poverty consume foods high in sugar, salt and/or fat, and 17 per cent consume sweet beverages.
- Severe child food poverty is driving child undernutrition: the prevalence of severe child food poverty is three times higher in countries with a high prevalence of child stunting. Severe child food poverty is associated with child undernutrition. One in three children (32 per cent) experience severe child food poverty in countries with a high prevalence of stunting, compared to 11 per cent in countries with a low prevalence; and the odds of stunting are 34 per cent higher in children affected by severe child food poverty compared to children who are not affected. Similarly, the percentage of children living in severe child food poverty is more than double in countries with a high compared to low prevalence of wasting (35 per cent versus 14 per cent), and the odds of wasting are 50 per cent higher if a child is affected by severe child food poverty.
Call to action: Ending severe child food poverty
The scale of severe child food poverty, the slow progress over the past decade, and the impacts of severe child food poverty on child survival, growth and development demand a step change in commitment, actions and accountability. To address child malnutrition governments and partners must invest in actions to improve children’s access to diverse and nutritious diets and end severe child food poverty.
UNICEF calls on national governments, development and humanitarian partners, donors, civil society and media, academic and research organizations to:
- Elevate child food poverty reduction as a requirement for achieving global and national nutrition and development goals and a metric of success in meeting children’s right to food and nutrition; and commit resources to end child food poverty.
- Transform food systems by ensuring food environments make nutritious, diverse and healthy foods the most accessible, affordable and desirable option for feeding young children, and the food and beverage industry complies with policies to protect children from unhealthy foods and beverages.
- Leverage health systems to deliver essential nutrition services, including counselling and support on child feeding, to prevent and treat child malnutrition, prioritizing the most vulnerable children.
- Activate social protection systems to address income poverty in ways that are responsive to the food and nutrition needs of the most vulnerable children and their families, including social transfers to protect children at highest risk of child food poverty.
- Strengthen data systems to assess the prevalence and severity of child food poverty; detect increases in child food poverty early, including in fragile and humanitarian contexts; and track national and global progress in reducing severe child food poverty.
Highlights‘Child Food Poverty:
Nutrition deprivation in early childhood’ examines the status, trends, inequities and drivers of child food poverty in early childhood. The report also outlines an agenda for tackling the problem, including actions to transform food systems, leverage health systems, and activate social protection systems in ways that put children’s right to food and nutrition in early childhood at the centre.
