Save the Children has a published new report Food for Thought which involves background research by Young Lives. The report is published in the run-up to a meeting on nutrition being held in advance of the G8 summit of world leaders which will take place in Northern Ireland next week. The meeting on Nutrition for Growth: Beating Hunger through Business and Science will be co-hosted by Britain, Brazil and the Children's Investment Fund Foundation. It will bring together business leaders, scientists, government officials, and civil society groups to make commitments to tackle under-nutrition in some of the poorest countries.
The Save the Children report finds that while huge progress has been made for children over the past two decades with the number of children dying under the age of 5 falling from 12 million to 6.9 million. But malnutrition threatens to undermine these advances, contributing to the deaths of 2.3 million children a year and for millions more children contributing to failures in cognitive and educational development.
Researchers measured the learning of children who were stunted at the age of 5 compared with their non-stunted peers and evaluated the gap in educational achievement and learning ability at the age of 8. Effects associated with stunting at the age of 5 meant that children were nearly one-fifth less likely to be able to read a simple sentence and nearly 13 per cent less likely to be able to write a simple sentence. As stunted children fell behind with their work, they were more likely to be kept back with younger children at school, with this group being 13 per cent less likely to be in the appropriate grade for their age.
The study charts how these disadvantages mount, as children who have to re-sit their grades were more likely to leave school earlier, a particular problem given many of the children have already received inadequate amounts of schooling because of their delayed learning. This reinforces other analysis from Young Lives that tracks the long-term effects of poverty on their schooling and later prospects in the jobs market.
Reference
Save the Children (2013) Food for Thought: Tackling child malnutrition to unlock potential and boost prosperity, London: Save the Children.
Read the press coverage:
BBC News online (28 May 2013): Literacy 'hit by malnourishment' http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-22656793
BBC world website (28 May 2013) Malnutrition hits school performance, warns Save the Children http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-22685208
Daily Mirror: Save The Children report: Malnourished children struggle to read and write simple sentences http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/save-children-report-malnourished-children-1916910#.UaPrqah9qHE.twitter
Financial Times (28 May 2013): Research points to $125bn global economic cost of malnourishment http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/5a8d6d40-c6c9-11e2-8a36-00144feab7de.html
The Guardian (28 May 2013): Britain must commit £132m a year to combat malnutrition, says charity http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/2013/may/28/britain-combat-malnutrition-children-charity
Voice of America (28 May 2013): 'Report: Child Malnutrition Costs Global Economy Billions' http://www.voanews.com/content/report-says-child-malnutrition-costs-global-economy-billions-of-dollars/1669829.html
Save the Children has a published new report Food for Thought which involves background research by Young Lives. The report is published in the run-up to a meeting on nutrition being held in advance of the G8 summit of world leaders which will take place in Northern Ireland next week. The meeting on Nutrition for Growth: Beating Hunger through Business and Science will be co-hosted by Britain, Brazil and the Children's Investment Fund Foundation. It will bring together business leaders, scientists, government officials, and civil society groups to make commitments to tackle under-nutrition in some of the poorest countries.
The Save the Children report finds that while huge progress has been made for children over the past two decades with the number of children dying under the age of 5 falling from 12 million to 6.9 million. But malnutrition threatens to undermine these advances, contributing to the deaths of 2.3 million children a year and for millions more children contributing to failures in cognitive and educational development.
Researchers measured the learning of children who were stunted at the age of 5 compared with their non-stunted peers and evaluated the gap in educational achievement and learning ability at the age of 8. Effects associated with stunting at the age of 5 meant that children were nearly one-fifth less likely to be able to read a simple sentence and nearly 13 per cent less likely to be able to write a simple sentence. As stunted children fell behind with their work, they were more likely to be kept back with younger children at school, with this group being 13 per cent less likely to be in the appropriate grade for their age.
The study charts how these disadvantages mount, as children who have to re-sit their grades were more likely to leave school earlier, a particular problem given many of the children have already received inadequate amounts of schooling because of their delayed learning. This reinforces other analysis from Young Lives that tracks the long-term effects of poverty on their schooling and later prospects in the jobs market.
Reference
Save the Children (2013) Food for Thought: Tackling child malnutrition to unlock potential and boost prosperity, London: Save the Children.
Read the press coverage:
BBC News online (28 May 2013): Literacy 'hit by malnourishment' http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-22656793
BBC world website (28 May 2013) Malnutrition hits school performance, warns Save the Children http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-22685208
Daily Mirror: Save The Children report: Malnourished children struggle to read and write simple sentences http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/save-children-report-malnourished-children-1916910#.UaPrqah9qHE.twitter
Financial Times (28 May 2013): Research points to $125bn global economic cost of malnourishment http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/5a8d6d40-c6c9-11e2-8a36-00144feab7de.html
The Guardian (28 May 2013): Britain must commit £132m a year to combat malnutrition, says charity http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/2013/may/28/britain-combat-malnutrition-children-charity
Voice of America (28 May 2013): 'Report: Child Malnutrition Costs Global Economy Billions' http://www.voanews.com/content/report-says-child-malnutrition-costs-global-economy-billions-of-dollars/1669829.html