Half a billion children could grow up
physically and mentally stunted
over the next 15 years because they do not have enough to eat, the charity
Save the Children says in a new report. It says much more needs to be
done to tackle malnutrition in the world's
poorest countries. The charity found that many families could not afford
meat, milk or vegetables. The survey covered families in India, Bangladesh,
Peru, Pakistan and Nigeria. One parent in six said their children were abandoning
school to help out by working for food. A third of parents surveyed said
their children complained about not having enough to eat. The survey was carried out in
the five countries - where, the agency says, half the world's malnourished
children live - by international polling agency Globescan.
Malnutrition
contributes to the deaths of 2.6 million children each year, according to the
report. Assumpta Ndumi, a nutritionist who works with Save the Children in
Kenya, told the BBC's Network Africa programme that successive droughts
are causing a downward spiral there: "When another drought comes and
livelihood assets are destroyed it becomes worse for families to be able to
feed their children. "Milk is very important for families in
north-eastern Kenya, so when livestock is lost they basically
have no access to a protein source. "We need to address the hidden
hunger because it's killing silently."
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VOCABULARY
1.
Stunted
(adj.) - not developing properly or to full size
2.
Tackle
(v) - to try to deal with a difficult problem
3.
Malnutrition
(n) - when someone becomes ill or weak because they have not eaten enough
good food
4.
Abandoning
(v) - to stop doing something because there are too many problems and it is
impossible to continue
5.
Drought
(n) - a long period of dry weather when there is not enough water for
plants and animals to live
6.
Livestock
(n) - animals such as cows and sheep that are kept on a farm
7.
Address
(v) - start trying to solve it
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
1.
Is malnutrition a problem in your country?
Explain.
2.
Talk about prices of food in your country.
3.
What should be done to address malnutrition?
4.
Discuss about child labor.
