UN says hunger stunts some 200 million children

(November 12, 2009) Nearly 200 million children in poor countries have stunted growth because of insufficient nutrition, according to a new report published by UNICEF before a three-day international summit on the problem of world hunger. The head of a U.N. food agency called on the world to join him in a day of fasting ahead of the summit to highlight the plight of 1 billion hungry people. Jacques Diouf, director-general of the Food and Agriculture Organization, said Wednesday he hoped the fast would encourage action by world leaders who will take part in the meeting at his agency's headquarters starting Monday. The U.N. Children's Fund published a report saying that nearly 200 million children under five in poor countries were stunted by a lack of nutrients in their food. More than 90 percent of those children live in Africa and Asia, and more than a third of all deaths in that age group are linked to under nutrition, according to UNICEF. While progress has been made in Asia _ rates of stunted growth dropped from 44 percent in 1990 to 30 percent last year _ there has been little success in Africa. There, the rate of stunted growth was about 38 percent in 1990. Last year, the rate was about 34 percent. South Asia is a particular hotspot for the problem, with just Afghanistan, Nepal, India, Bangladesh and Pakistan accounting for 83 million hungry children under five. The agency hopes its World Summit on Food Security, with Pope Benedict XVI and some 60 heads of state so far expected to attend, will endorse a new strategy to combat hunger, focusing on increased investment in agricultural development for poor countries. «Eradicating hunger is no pipe dream,» Diouf said. «The battle against hunger can be won. » FAO says global food output will have to increase by 70 percent to feed a projected population of 9.1 billion in 2050. To achieve that, poor countries will need $44 billion in annual agricultural aid, compared with the current $7.9 billion, to increase access to irrigation systems, modern machinery, seeds and fertilizer as well as build roads and train farmers.