What we eat, as well as how much we eat, matters. Different foods have different nutrients and our bodies need a wide variety in order to stay healthy.
For children, it really matters. If a child’s diet does not provide the right mix of nutrients then they will become malnourished even if they received an adequate quantity of food.
As malnutrition plays a role in half of all child death focusing too much on quantity can be devastating in the long-run. Good nutrition is vital for a child to grow, thrive and develop to their full potential.
As we enter the second half of the Nutrition for Growth Year of Action, it’s crucial that key donors like the United Kingdom have nutrition at the centre of their work. However, concerns have been raised about the UK’s approach by a group of MPs. Our latest data from Niger and Malawi shows why donors must have a strong focus on nutritious food. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) should set out as part of a Nutrition for Growth commitment how it will ensure good nutrition.
The rising cost of good nutrition
The pandemic has caused chaos for food supply chains and economies. People’s movements have been restricted, livelihoods have been disrupted, borders have been closed, and food prices have increased.
We wanted to understand what impact this has had on how easily people can access and afford nutritious food. To do this, we used our Cost of the Diet tool in Niger and Malawi. Two countries where stunting rates are already over 40% for children under-five. What we found was a worsening situation.
In early 2020, before the pandemic, very poor households in Niger would have needed to spend 107% of their annual income to afford a nutritious diet. An already out-of-reach diet though has become even more difficult to achieve.
In April 2021, as the pandemic entered its second year, a diet providing the same nutrients would have cost that same household 160% of their annual income. The highest proportion since the pandemic began with no signs of positive change.
DAILY HOUSEHOLD COST (CFA) OF A NUTRITIOUS DIET IN 2019/20 COMPARED TO 2020/21
Annual cost of the diet versus annual income*
*October 2019 data is from the October 2019 Fill the Nutrient Gap analysis. Production years: April 2019-March 2020, April 2020-March 2021 *Annual income = annual cash income + value of own production - non-food expenditure. The CotD monthly costs have been converted into annual amounts for this comparison.
In Malawi, the same problem can be found. 2021 has seen prices increase beyond 2020’s already unattainable levels. In the areas we studied, if a very poor household purchased a nutritious diet every month since April last year then they would have run out of money by August 2020.
As March 2021 ended, they would have needed to spend nearly 3 times the amount of their annual income to have maintained that nutritious diet and essential non-food expenditures.
Malnutrition is preventable and treatable. But prevention requires access to affordable nutritious foods, a safe and clean environment, and effective health and nutrition services. And these rising costs of nutritious food has been matched with disruption to health and nutrition services.
These services are not only crucial for prevention but also provide life-saving treatment for children who do become malnourished. The World Health Organization has reported that the management of moderate and severe malnutrition has been disrupted in more than 40% of countries.
Global economic shocks, rising costs of nutritious diets and disruption to nutrition services could lead to an additional 13.6 million children becoming wasted by 2022, and an additional 3.6 million children stunted. 283,000 additional children under-five could die.
What should the UK do?
It was important that the International Development Committee asked the UK Government to set out how it considers improving food quality as well as quantity. Good nutrition matters. The FCDO recently published their performance metrics and have set mortality rates in children under 5 as key. Another metric is the number of people reached through humanitarian support.
Without a strong focus on nutrition in both of these areas their performance metrics will not deliver their potential. As the FCDO sets out its international development strategy, considering good nutrition amongst work on healthy diets as well as humanitarian response and global health can unlock greater impact and, ultimately, save more lives.
At the pre-summit of the United Nations Food Systems Summit last month, Zac Goldsmith represented the UK. He shared thoughts on hunger, food insecurity, deforestation and biodiversity. One word that was missing though, was nutrition. When the UK attends the Summit itself in September, that needs to change.
Millions of children are facing a hunger crisis brought on by conflict, climate change, and COVID-19. Over 5.7 million children under 5 are a step away from famine. No child should ever go hungry. We’ve averted famine before and we can do it again. We must save lives and prevent hunger in the short-term, whilst making systems more resilient for the future. Please donate to our emergency fund.
