Every developmental stage of a child and their subsequent economic prospects are dependent on having access to a healthy diet, beginning during the first 1000 days of life, which is the period between conception and the child’s second birthday. Children who are malnourished are more susceptible to common illnesses and infectious diseases, respond less well to vaccinations, and may grow too small for their age (wasting) or too slender for their stature (stunting). In the worst circumstances, undernutrition increases a child’s chance of dying young.
Reducing avoidable deaths begins with healthy eating. However, million of people worldwide suffer from undernutrition, which accounts for about 45% of pediatric fatalities.
Each child’s mortality from malnutrition is a sorrow and an inadequacy in the face of global inequality in a world of boundless money and resources. The absence of emphasis on the most stringent nutrition outcomes in international development and political agendas leads to global malnutrition.
Political decisions about land ownership, agriculture, social services, health, education, foreign and national conflicts, humanitarian crises, climate change, economic growth, and many other topics have an impact on nutrition results. The most vulnerable communities worldwide are always disproportionately affected when universal access to a healthy food is not given political priority.
The UK government organized the inaugural Nutritional for Growth (N4G) Conference in 2013, and it has been ten years since then. The N4G Summit, which was organized to focus international government resources and efforts on combating malnutrition, outlined a challenging agenda. In an effort to find solutions that could stop hunger, widespread food insecurity, and malnutrition, the UK state is holding a Global Food Security Summit on November 20, 2023.
By holding the Food Security Conference and focusing the opening session on Ending Avoidable Death of Children, the UK govt is making a significant contribution to elevating nutrition high on the global humanitarian agenda, just ten years after the inaugural N4G Summit.