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United Nations Student Leadership Conference on Development
Empowering Youth for Peace and Sustainable Development
Subtheme C: Nutrition
“The world produces enough food to feed every man, woman and child on earth.
Hunger and malnutrition therefore are not due to lack of food alone, but are also
the consequences of poverty, inequality and misplaced priorities.”
– UNICEF Deputy Executive Director, Kul C. Gautam
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Note: For all bolded words, please see “Key Terms”
Introduction
What is “malnutrition”?
According to UNICEF, “malnutrition – the state of being poorly nourished – is not
merely a result of too little food, but of a combination of factors: insufficient protein, energy and
micronutrients, frequent infections or disease, poor care and feeding practices, inadequate health
services and unsafe water and sanitation”.
Nutritional status is a key indicator of poverty and hunger, poor health, and inadequate
education and social conditions. Good nutrition is crucial to reach the health, education and
economic goals contained in the MDGs since good health, cognitive development and
productivity cannot be achieved without good nutrition. Poorly nourished children cannot
grow and develop properly, resist infections or learn to their full potential.
In the Millennium Development Goals, MDG there is no specific MDG goal on nutrition,
however, nutrition goals are found throughout the MDGs. In the newly established sustainable
development goals, the Rio +20 conference has included a newly renovated goal, to “end
hunger, achieve food security, and improve nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture” by
2030. Within the goal, they hope to end “all forms of malnutrition, including achieving by 2025
the internationally agreed targets on stunting and wasting in children under five years of age,
and address the nutritional needs of adolescent girls, pregnant and lactating women, and older
persons”.
What is the general problem?
According to UNICEF, “‘Millions of children suffer from micronutrient malnutrition –
when the body lacks essential minerals – iodine, iron and zinc – and vitamins – vitamin A,
folate… Deficiencies in iodine can lead to severe mental or physical impairment, in iron to lifethreatening anemia or lowered productivity, in vitamin A to blindness or to a weakened immune
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system and in folate to low birth weight or birth defects…’” Malnutrition can be divided into
three major issues: micronutrient deficiency, hunger, and overconsumption.1
Problem 1- Micronutrient Deficiency (deficiency of specific vitamins and minerals) 2:
(geographically unique to India)
The extremely poor cannot afford to keep themselves and their children healthy,
therefore they either rely on little to no food a day OR extremely undernourished foods that
contain little to no nutritional value for effective growth in children and adults. Although many
women and children around the world experience staggering levels of micronutrient deficiency,
there has never been a higher level of malnutrition than in India and south Asia. According to a
Swedish based NGO, Antenna, “around 60% of women in south Asia are underweight. This is
one of the main reasons why over 50% of children in Asia are also underweight. The vicious
cycle is clear in India where the undernourished child population between 0 to 6 years is
estimated to be 85 million; almost half the children under 3 years are underweight or stunted.
Slum children are the worst in nutritional profiles”.
Success Story: Spirulina, a type of algae, which can “serve as a vital source of nutrition”, has
become a sustainable solution grown and tested by the Antenna organization. They go on to
explain that in order for this agricultural project to be successful, they have created a list of
criteria such as ensuring that the algae, Spirulina, can:
• be produced locally,
• uses inputs of common agricultural ingredients,
• uses Spirulina production as an employment opportunity for women,
• develops a low cost solution to fight malnutrition,
• ensures economic self-sufficiency and sustainability
The positive effects of Spirulina is many:
• a food supplement combining vitamins, iron, and other micronutrients
• cheapest natural product containing the two most important micronutrients needed for
growth and development (vitamin A and iron)
• one gram of Spirulina per day is equivalent to the 50 to 100 grams of carrots or
spinach needed to gain vitamin A and iron
• Spirulina improves both the physical development as well as the cognitive
development of the child
• beneficial to those affected by HIV/AIDS by improving and balancing nutrition
• can be produced locally with little investment
• producing, processing and distributing Spirulina can become a successful
business for women, allowing them to also be “agents of awareness” and provide
education on nutrition and the benefits of Spirulina
Success Story: Currently, Spirulina has already been grown and distributed in India, Western
and Central Africa. Antenna states, “HIV/AIDS patients are buying Spirulina every day as a
dietary supplement. A recent study with children in Burkina Faso has shown that HIV/AIDSinfected children put on weight and grow if rehabilitated with Spirulina”.
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Problem 2- Hunger (deficiency of calories and protein)3: (geographically unique to Africa)
According to UNICEF, a human dies every 3.6 seconds due to hunger-related diseases, and the
majority of deaths are children under the age of five.4 The World Food Programme (WFP) states
that “842 Million people in the world do not have enough to eat” and “66 million primary
school-age children attend classes hungry across the developing world, with 23 million in Africa
alone”.5 Hunger exists due to the vicious poverty cycle, agricultural roadblocks (such as poor
infrastructure and lack of access for agricultural storage), climate, conflicts (causing war and
displacement), the instability of the market (a constant change of high to low pricing for food),
and finally food waste (WFP states, “each year, food that is produced but not eaten guzzles up a
volume of water equivalent to the annual flow of Russia's Volga River. Producing this food also
adds 3.3 billion tonnes of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere, with consequences for the climate
and, ultimately, for food production”.6
Success Story: The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) states, “agriculture is
the primary source of livelihood for about 65 percent of Africans. It represents 30-40 percent
Africa’s GDP and accounts for almost 60 percent of Africa’s export income”.7 Therefore, a
sustainable solution for providing food security lies within the agricultural promises held on the
continent of Africa. Africare, a longtime leader in sustainable development assistance to Africa,
created the SANA project in hopes of eradicating hunger in the Nampula Province by increasing
the local population’s income and yields. Africare successfully
• trained 726 lead farmers in sustainable agricultural practices
• leading to an increase in income for 88% of the farmers which
• educated 1,000 mother groups and 500 nutrition field agents who
• reached 15,000 additional mothers through group discussions aimed at reducing
alarmingly high rates of chronically undernourished children.
Africare also created the BOFSI project in response to the ongoing food crisis in Chad. They
successfully:
• built community food stocks to manage future food shortages
• developed 393 hectares (971 acres) of land for drought protection
• established 77 early warning and emergency response committees for the
widespread food crisis
• extended microcredit financing to hopeful income generating opportunities
• resulting in the conservation of 1.52 million kilograms of soy-fortified bulgur (a highfiber, high-protein substitute for rice containing many vitamins and minerals and similar to
cornmeal).8
Problem 3- Overconsumption (excess of calories often accompanied by deficiency of
vitamins and minerals): (geographically unique to Mexico) The World Health Organization
(WHO) stated that in 2012, 40 million children under the age of 5 and 1.4 billion adults were
considered to be obese.9 Contrary to popular belief, the United States is not the only country that
falls victim to high obesity rates. According to Discovery News, the US, China, India, Russia,
Brazil, Mexico, Egypt, Germany, Pakistan and Indonesia hold “more than 50 percent of the
world’s 671 million obese people”.10 Once thought to be the disease of the wealthy, obesity is
now more prevalent in the lower to middle class income pools. The WHO states, “more than 30
million overweight children are living in developing countries and 10 million in developed
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countries”.11 The WHO also states that obesity linked diseases are the cause of more deaths
around the world than underweight and malnutrition linked diseases. It is important to note that
undernutrition and obesity go hand in hand due to the consumption of “high-fat, high-sugar,
high-salt, energy-dense, micronutrient-poor foods, which tend to be lower in cost but also lower
in nutrient quality. These dietary patterns in conjunction with lower levels of physical activity,
result in sharp increases in childhood obesity while undernutrition issues remain unsolved”.12
Success Story: Felipe Calderón, former president of Mexico, stated in 2011 that Mexico holds
the highest global obesity rate for children between the ages of 5 and 19 and many of these issues
are due to the large obese population found amongst their parents.13 According to the Guardian,
32.8% of the Mexican population is obese and 14% of the population has diabetes. As of 2014,
Mexico has surpassed the United States as the country with the most severe percentage of
obesity. Due to these staggering statistics, the current president of Mexico, Enrique Peña Nieto,
proposed a tax on all sodas. The article states, “Every year, Mexico's 118 million people drink
163 litres of soda each, or nearly half a litre a day. According to the National Institute of Public
Health, a 10% tax should reduce that to 141 litres per year, preventing up to 630,000 cases of
diabetes by 2030”.14 This new tax would not only be to prevent the population from the
purchasing of soda, but also save the money accumulated through the 10% taxation to provide
more drinking water throughout Mexican schools. The Mexican congress managed to pass an 8%
tax on soda as well as processed food “that contains more than 275 calories per 100g”. As a
result, the Latin American president for Coca Cola appeared side-by-side with President Peña
Nieto the day the taxation was passed and pledges to “focus on sales of low-calorie and nocalorie drinks, improve the transparency of labeling and not market to children under 12”.15
Conclusion
The newly proposed sustainable development goals have been put in place to provide just that, a
sustainable environment for the entire globe. The Rio+20 summit states, “ People are at the centre
of sustainable development and, in this regard, Rio+20 promised to strive for a world that is just,
equitable and inclusive, and committed to work together to promote sustained and inclusive
economic growth, social development and environmental protection and thereby to benefit all, in
particular the children of the world, youth and future generations of the world without distinction
of any kind such as age, sex, disability, culture, race, ethnicity, origin, migratory status, religion,
economic or other status”.16 The Rio+20 hopes to achieve goals furthering the advancement of
food security and proper nutrition by17:
• eradicating hunger (by 2030)
• ending all forms of malnutrition (hunger, nutrient deficiency, and overconsumption by
2025)
• double the productivity and incomes of agriculture and small-scale food producers
(particularly women by 2030)
• ensure sustainable food development systems such as adaptation to harsh climates and
natural disasters (by 2030)
• maintain a diversity of seeds, plants and domesticated animals to be held in local,
national and international plants to maintain food security (by 2020)
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• increasing investments in rural infrastructure, agricultural research, and technology
development to continue the enhancement of agricultural productivity (by 2020)
• prevent trade restrictions on agricultural products
• adopt certain measures to ensure a better functioning of the food market to eliminate the
roller coaster effect of extreme price changes
Although seemingly daunting, these Sustainable Development Goals have been created after
seeing the staggering success of the Millennium Development Goals from 2000 (which can be
read here: http://www.unicef.org.uk/UNICEFs-Work/What-we-do/Millennium-DevelopmentGoals/Are-the-Goals-being-achieved/). It is because of the ardent work accomplished by millions
of individuals and organizations that the millennium development goals have been met. Now it is
up to YOU to aid in the establishment of a better world for all by creating sustainable
development solutions to your own local issues. What can YOU do for your world? Ready, set,
GO!
“We may have different religions, different languages, different colored skin, but
we all belong to one human race”
– Kofi Annan, former Secretary General to the United Nations
Key Terms:
Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs): any non-profit, voluntary citizens' group, which is
organized on a local, national or international level. Task-oriented and driven by people with a
common interest, NGOs perform a variety of service and humanitarian functions, bring citizen
concerns to Governments, advocate and monitor policies and encourage political participation
through provision of information.18
Rio+20 Summit: is the name given to the United Nations Conference on Sustainable
Development that took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in June of 2012- marking twenty years
after the 1992 Earth Summit. The conference included world leaders, NGO’s, participants
from the private sector as well as other groups and organizations that come together to discuss
how to successfully reduce poverty, advance social equity, and ensure environmental
protection on an ever more crowded planet.19
Low Birth Weight: Less than 2,500 grams (0.004 pounds)20
Underweight: weighing less than is normal or required for a certain age group
Wasting: gradually taking away strength and energy and emaciating the body
Stunting: to stop, slow down, or hinder the growth or development of a child
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Additional Resources
1. UNICEF: nutrition section
http://www.unicef.org/nutrition/
2. WHO: nutrition section
http://www.who.int/nutrition/en/
3. NYTimes: article on hunger linked to malnutrition
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/15/world/asia/poor-sanitation-in-india-may-afflictwell-fed-children-with-malnutrition.html?_r=0
4. UNICEF: What is being done to combat malnutrition
http://www.unicef.org/media/media_65961.html
5. UNICEF: “Report card” for global nutrition
http://www.unicef.org/nutrition/index_33721.html
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http://www.antenna.ch/medias/spirulina-casestudy.pdf
http://www.antenna.ch/medias/spirulina-casestudy.pdf
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http://www.antenna.ch/medias/spirulina-casestudy.pdf
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http://www.unicef.org/mdg/poverty.html
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http://www.wfp.org/hunger/stats
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http://www.wfp.org/hunger/causes
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http://www.ifpri.org/sites/default/files/pubs/pubs/ib/ib16.pdf
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http://www.wishh.org/aboutsoy/soyfortified.html
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http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs311/en/
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http://news.discovery.com/human/genetics/top-10-countries-with-the-most-obese-people-named-140528.htm
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http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs311/en/
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http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs311/en/
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http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/health/2011/10/21/mexico-attacks-child-obesity-with-weight-loss-program/
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http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/16/mexico-soda-tax-sugar-obesity-health
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http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/16/mexico-soda-tax-sugar-obesity-health
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http://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/focussdgs.html
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http://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/focussdgs.html
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http://www.ngo.org/ngoinfo/define.html
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http://www.uncsd2012.org/about.html
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http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/stats_popup2.html
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