Bangkok, Jun 6 (EFE).- Around 59 million children under five years of age in East Asia and the Pacific, 45 percent of the total, suffer from food poverty, the United Nations children agency said Thursday.
Lack of a nutritious and diverse diet is affecting the physical and mental growth of these children, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said in its report, ‘Child Food Poverty: Addressing Nutrition Deprivation in Early Childhood.’
Children who consume less than five of the eight food groups recommended by the UN were classified as suffering from child food poverty by the agency.
Nearly two-thirds of the total number of children living in severe child food poverty live in just 20 countries, including China, Indonesia, Myanmar, and the Philippines.
Almost one in seven children under five years (14 percent) in East Asia and the Pacific have stunted growth, and more than half suffer from micronutrient deficiencies, the UN body said.
The increasing climate shocks, including extreme heat, droughts, and floods, are threatening the availability of food for children in region, according to the UNICEF.
“Children living in food poverty are denied their fundamental right to nutritious food and a life lived with dignity,” UNICEF Deputy Regional Director for East Asia and the Pacific, Myo-Zin Nyunt, said.
These children represent the “world’s failure to make nutritious and diverse foods and diets available and affordable for the youngest children and their families,” he added. EFE
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