The first 2 years of life are vital for children, but For 3.5 million it has been a miss

Most anyone knows that the first two years in a child's life key to adult development, and it is the undernourishment of children and pregnant mothers that is the underlying cause of some 3.5 million preventable child deaths each year. After the age of two much of a child's life is already permanently imprinted upon them, especially their future health. Children who spend their first two years undernourished face irreversible damage, the effects of which linger the remainder of their lives. The effects of undernourishment of children during their first two years of life can lead to irreversible damage, including stunting, shorter adult height, mental retardation, difficulty in school and with concentration, and decreased birth weight in offspring. Children who are malnourished are at high risk for a number of vitamin deficiencies including; rickets, scurvy, anemia, spina bifida, osteoporosis, and a generally weekend immune system which can leave them susceptible to other diseases and illnesses. All of these causes can thus lead to a shorter life span, and, or a decreased ability to in adulthood to preform and thus effect their income.

A series of reports by The Lancet: Maternal and Child Undernutrition, have shown that over 1/3rd of the deaths of child hood deaths, and 11% of diseases worldwide, are directly caused by maternal and children undernutrion. The series was done in 6 parts focuses on; Nutrition has slipped through the gap, Over a third of child deaths and 11% of global disease burden due to maternal and child undernutrition, Poor fetal growth or stunting in first two years of life leads to huge negative consequences in later life, Maternal and child nutrition interventions could prevent a quarter of child deaths in poor communities, 80% of world's undernourished children live in just 20 countries, and The international nutrition system: fragmented, dysfunctional and desperately in need of reform.

The final paper calls for reform to the system, which is comprised of donor organizations, governments, academia and the private sector. The papers claims that, “The moment is ripe for these reforms. Their implementation would transform the political salience of undernutrition, and offer the chance of a better, more productive life to the 67 million children born each year in the countries most severely afflicted by undernutrition.” Such reforms that the paper calls for include, an increase in funding and funding flexibility, an increase in human resources, sustainable policies, coordination of and increasing interest in the issues.

With 80% of the world's undernourished children living in just 20 countries and in only four of the worlds regions, Africa, Asia, western Pacific and the Middle East, one would think that targeting this preventable tragedy from befalling millions more children would be easy. However the truth is that we have stood face to face with this preventable killer year after year, and decade after decade. Will 2008 be the year we head the call of millions of children around the world?

In order to end undernourishment in children we must focus heavily on prenatal and postnatal care and nutrition for mothers, as this is the starting point for a lifetime of undernourishment and disease. Country specific plans to educate prevent and treat undernourishment and all malnutrition related issues must be put into place. But the fight to end hunger is not one based merely on food, it is one based on sustainability and nutrition, so we can not just send food aid and think the problem is solved. As I mention in my earlier post, Can we find an end to poverty in 2008?, that ‘while food aid is an immediate need, it cannot be the end of the solution if we are to find sustainable ways out of poverty. What developing nations need is peace and stability, and this needs to be the number one resolution on the 2008 agenda, if we are going to heal the wound of poverty.’ Without peace and economic stability the cycle of poverty and the undernourishment of millions of children looks like it will continue well into the generations to come.

Please these previous posts for more information:
Poverty's Children
A Call to Increase the Use of Ready to Use Foods to Fight Malnutrition
Looking to Kenya: Forecasting, preventing and alleviating faminecan we really do it?
Millions of Children Worldwide Die From Malnutrition, but a Few Dollars a Year Can Save Them!
Is Breastfeeding heading for extinction in the Philippines?
Will We Ever See an end to Hunger in Africa?