Caitlin Carter
Lynn Kilpatrick
English 2010
3/21/2012
Hunger and Malnutrition
Hunger and malnutrition has been a growing problem in many areas of the world
over the past few decades. The Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations
estimated that there were 925 million hungry people in 2010. Of those people, there were 578
million hungry people in Asia and the Pacific alone. With a total world population of about 6.8
billion people, 13.1 percent of those people were hungry in 2010. That means that there are 1 in
7 people that are hungry (Hunger Notes).
Hunger is a growing issue in the world that leads to a
greater occurrence of malnutrition, especially in children. Almost 9 million children died before
the age of five in 2008 and about one-third of these deaths were related to malnutrition. Around
178 million children worldwide had stunted growth due to malnutrition and 90 percent of those
children live in just 36 countries. Most of these countries are in Sub-Saharan Africa and South
and Central Asia (Bread for the World). Two-thirds of the world’s hungry population is living in
Bangladesh, China, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
This shows that Asian countries are among the most affected by hunger and malnutrition (The
Hunger Project). South Asian women and children are by far the most affected by hunger and
malnutrition. Half of the world’s populations of malnourished children live in Bangladesh,
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India, and Pakistan alone (Ramalingaswami, Jonsson and Rhode). About 60% of South Asian
women are underweight during childbearing and 8 out of 10 South Asian women are anemic
during pregnancy. This is due to malnutrition of South Asian women during their childhood and
childbearing years (yespakistan.com).
Hunger is the term that is used to define the want or scarcity of food in a country. The
term world hunger has also been used to describe the want or scarcity of food on a worldwide
basis. Malnutrition is more of a medical term used to define the lack of some or all nutritional
elements necessary for human health. The two types of malnutrition are protein-energy
malnutrition and micronutrient deficiency. Protein-energy malnutrition is the lack of enough
protein and calories in a diet. This is the type of malnutrition most associated with world hunger
and it is the most lethal form of malnutrition. This type of malnutrition is very serious because
protein is essential for amino acid sources and muscle development and calories are necessary to
provide energy for the body. Micronutrient deficiency is the lack of trace elements such as
vitamins and minerals that are important to human health. Three very important and most
common micronutrient deficiencies among poverty stricken developing countries are Vitamin A,
iron, and iodide deficiencies.
There are between 100 and 140 million children with Vitamin A deficiency. Vitamin A
deficiency can cause serious health problems, especially in children. Vitamin A is important in
eye health and helping the body fight disease. A lack in Vitamin A can cause growth retardation
in children. There are about 250,000 to 500,000 children with Vitamin A deficiencies who
become blind every year. About half of these children die within a year of losing their eyesight.
The principle cause of anemia is a lack of sufficient iron intake. Iron deficiencies can lead to
premature birth, low birth weight, increase in infections, and increased risk of death in children.
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This can also have a huge effect on physical and cognitive development, leading to lower
performance in school for children. Iodine deficiencies can also have a huge effect on mental
health, lowering performance in school and work. Iodine deficiencies are especially problematic
for pregnant women, increasing risk of stillbirths, abortions, congenital abnormalities. Cretinism
is a common form of serious mental retardation caused by iodine deficiencies in Asia (Hunger
Notes).
Poverty and economic stress are often times seen as the most substantial cause of
malnutrition worldwide. However, malnutrition continues to be highest in women and children
of South Asia despite economic growth and alleviation of poverty. Though South Asia has
considerably high rates of poverty, there are still higher rates of poverty in other regions of the
world such as Sub-Saharan Africa. The pattern is somewhat the same when comparing child
mortality rates between South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. UNICEF found the incidence of
infant mortality to be 63 per 1,000 children and the incidence of child mortality to be 84 per
1,000 children of South Asia in 2005. There was a much higher infant and child mortality rate in
Sub-Saharan Africa than there was in South Asia in 2005. However, Klasen found the incidence
of malnutrition was far higher in South Asia than in Sub-Saharan Africa in 2000. Klasen used
wasting, stunting, and underweight percentages as indicators to determine the nutritional status
of children under 5 in these areas. Wasting was determined using weight for height, stunting was
determined using height for age, and underweight was determined using weight for age. It was
found that 14.8% of children in South Asia had moderate wasting while only 7.8% of children in
Sub-Saharan Africa had moderate wasting. For moderate stunting, there were 43.7% of children
in South Asia and 40.5% of children in Sub-Saharan Africa. It was found that there were 45.4%
of children in South Asia who were underweight and 29.0% of children in Sub-Saharan Africa
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who were underweight. Although there is a far higher incidence of poverty and infant and child
mortality in Sub-Saharan Africa, there is still a far higher incidence of malnutrition in children of
South Asia. This means that there are other causes besides poverty contributing to malnutrition
in women and children of South Asia (Navaneetham, Dharmalingam and Caselli).
Low birth weight is an important contributor to malnutrition. Babies born with a low
birth weight have a poor health outlook and are more likely to suffer from malnutrition later in
life. Low birth weight can also attribute to various ailments in adult life. The incidence of low
birth weight in South Asia is far higher than that of any other region. About one third of the
children of South Asia are born with a low birth weight. The incidence of low birth weight is
directly related to maternal malnutrition. Low birth weight in a child indicates that the child did
not receive enough nutrients in the mother’s womb. This usually occurs because the mother was
undernourished during her childhood and/or during her pregnancy. Maternal malnutrition is
highest in the South Asia region. Over one-third of adult women are underweight in Bangladesh,
India, and Pakistan (The World Bank). According to UNICEF, the maternal mortality ratio for
South Asia in 2000 was 560 per 100,000 live births. Anemia alone accounts for one tenth of
maternal deaths in Asia and it is an endemic in the South Asian region. In 2000, more than 48
percent of pregnant women and 60 percent of non-pregnant women suffered from anemia in
some form. Maternal nutrition contributes largely to successful pregnancies and child health.
For that reason, recognizing the importance of maternal nutrition is necessary to end malnutrition
in South Asia.
There are a couple hypotheses on why there is such a high rate of malnutrition in South
Asia while the rates of poverty and child mortality are relatively lower than other regions of the
world. One hypothesis assumes the rates of malnutrition in South Asia may be over-estimated
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due to the use of US-based reference standards which might be inappropriate for this region.
This would be misleading in judging the prevalence of malnutrition in South Asia. However,
this hypothesis may be invalid due to the fact that the patterns of poverty and malnutrition are
about the same when accounting for a bias in the statistical data that was presented. Another
likely hypothesis proposes that child malnutrition doesn’t always end in mortality. South Asia
has better access to modern medicine and has a larger number of private medical practitioners.
This would account for lower rates of mortality, but it does not necessarily ensure that children
will get better nutrition. This would bring us back to maternal nutrition. Maternal nutrition has a
huge effect on child nutrition and overall health as discussed earlier. This would mean that the
root of all malnutrition problems in South Asia is directly related to maternal malnutrition.
Gender inequality in the South Asia region is largely to blame for the neglect of maternal
nutrition. The culture of this region is considerably regressive socially in comparison to other
regions of the world. This issue of a socially regressive culture in South Asia is disussed in a
review paper written by Kannan Navaneetham and his colleagues. The review stated, “There is
enough evidence to suggest that the socio-cultural norms prevalent in the most part of South Asia
not only devalue women’s well-being through a variety of reinforcing ways, but also
discriminate against women even in crucial matters such as the allocation of healthcare and food.
Apart from these socio-cultural factors, the demands made in the patriarchal societies of South
Asia on the time and energies of women are excessive and unfair than in other regions of the
world. Therefore, addressing gender inequality is central to ensuring better health and nutrition
for children and adults in the region” (Navaneetham, Dharmalingam and Caselli).
It has become apparent that there is an endemic of malnutrition plaguing the women and
children of South Asia. Malnutrition is a serious condition that can have lasting effects on
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physical health as well as cognitive thinking. It is a vicious cycle that will continue to plague the
women and children of South Asia if something isn’t done. The women and children of this
region need help and they cannot solve this problem on their own. Gabriela Mistral said, “We
are guilty of many errors and many faults, but our worst crime is abandoning the children,
neglecting the foundation of life. Many of the things we need can wait. The child cannot. Right
now is the time his bones are being formed, his blood is being made and his senses are being
developed. To him we cannot answer “Tomorrow”. His name is “Today” ” (World Health
Organization).
The best way to end this vicious cycle of malnutrition is to focus on improving maternal
nutrition. This in turn will help improve child nutrition. To do this there needs to be a social
reform in the male dominated societies of South Asia. Women need to have more rights and
they need more education. The education of women alone will have great effects on child
nutrition. The women of these regions deserve to be treated equally and they are entitled to it.
The nutrition of the women and children of the South Asia region will greatly improve if a
drastic change in the socio-economic status of women is made. I would propose a movement
towards gender equality through education of women across the region of South Asia. This will
largely decrease the rates of maternal and child malnutrition in this region.
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Works Cited
Bread for the World. 10 March 2012 <http://www.bread.org/hunger/global/facts.html>.
Hunger Notes. 10 March 2012
<http://www.worldhunger.org/articles/Learn/world%20hunger%20facts%202002.htm>.
Navaneetham, Kannan, Arunachalam Dharmalingam and Graziella Caselli. "Poverty, Nutrition and
Mortality: A Comparative Perspective." Paris: CICRED, 2008. 15-30.
Ramalingaswami, Vulimiri, Urban Jonsson and Jon Rhode. The Progress of Nations 1996. Paris: UNICEF,
1996.
The Hunger Project. 10 March 2012
<http://www.thp.org/learn_more/issues/know_your_world_facts_about_hunger_and_poverty>.
The World Bank. 17 March 2012
<http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/SOUTHASIAEXT/0,,contentMDK:22264595~
menuPK:158937~pagePK:2865106~piPK:2865128~theSitePK:223547,00.html>.
World Health Organization. 12 March 2012 <http://www.who.int/nutgrowthdb/en/>.
yespakistan.com. yespakistan.com. 11 March 2012
<http://www.yespakistan.com/wellness/nut_challenge.asp>.
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Caitlin Carter
English 2010
4/7/2012
Audience Memo
I am proposing a solution to greatly decrease the rate of malnutrition in the women and
children of South Asia. This letter is addressed to several boards and government leaders across
the South Asia region. This is an open letter that is addressed to several different leaders and
boards because there are several areas of government in South Asia that will help with the
solution to this problem. The countries with the most staggering numbers in relation to women
and child malnutrition are Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan. The governments of these countries
will have the most profound effect on changing legislation and instituting education programs for
women. This letter will be sent to government education boards and lawmakers of these
countries that are involved in legislation and funding for nutrition and health education.
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Proposal
To Whom It May Concern:
The extremely high rate of malnutrition in women and children is a very important issue
facing the South Asian region. Half of the world’s population of malnourished children lives in
Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan alone. Malnutrition also greatly affects the women of this
region. About 60% of South Asian women are underweight during childbearing years and 8 out
of 10 women are anemic during pregnancy. Poor maternal nutrition is directly correlated to the
incidence of low birth weight babies. About one-third of the children of South Asia are born
with a low birth weight. Children born with a low birth weight are likely to be malnourished and
have a poor health outlook. Good nutrition is imperative to proper growth and good health in
children. Proper nutrition as a child is also likely lead to good adult health. As you can see,
there is a cycle of malnutrition involving the women and children of South Asia. That is why
there is a need to vastly improve maternal and child nutrition.
We can end the cycle by focusing on the education of mothers in the South Asia region.
There is a need for a health and nutrition education plan to be put in place for mothers of this
region. The women of this region need to be educated on a proper varied diet for their children,
how to properly and cleanly prepare food, as well as how to prevent simple illnesses. This can
be done by setting up education centers that focus on teaching the general public about health
and nutrition. These centers can be run primarily by volunteers, but there will be a need for
government funding to build these centers and employ educated workers to oversee the success
of these centers. The objective in doing this will be to educate the women of this region on how
they can contribute to improving the health of their children and in turn their societies. This will
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give these women a sense of empowerment and equality in decision making for their families.
This plan alone could have a great impact on lowering the malnutrition rates of children in this
region.
Finding government funding for this plan may be questionable. If sufficient government
funding is unavailable, then there will be a call for organizational help. There are many nonprofit organizations in existence that are aware of the importance of improving nutrition in this
region. UNICEF and WHO are two organizations with a primary focus on general health and
education around the world. UNICEF has already developed nutrition treatment centers in
several regions. These organizations are well equipped to provide volunteers and fundraising for
this plan. These organizations often times also have the knowledge needed to provide proper
education of these women.
The absurd rates of malnutrition in the women and children of the South Asian region
need to be addressed. Malnutrition is a problem that can have serious lifelong effects on children
and it can greatly affect the babies born to malnourished mothers. It is a vicious cycle that needs
to be stopped. The child is our future and that is why it is important to give that child the all that
it needs to reach its greatest potential. Gabriela Mistral said it best when she said, “We are guilty
of many errors and many faults, but our worst crime is abandoning the children, neglecting the
foundation of life. Many of the things we need can wait. The child cannot. Right now is the
time his bones are being formed, his blood is being made and his senses are being developed. To
him we cannot answer “Tomorrow”. His name is “Today”.”
Sincerely,
Caitlin Carter