Laura Elizabeth Pohlt/Bread for the World
Janaki Rana, 20, holds her 2-year-old
daughter Binti outside the Nutrition
Rehabilitation Hospital in Dhangadhi,
Nepal, where Binti was once a patient.
2034
not to go hungry, precisely because of this rapid pace of development. It’s
often called the 1,000-day window of opportunity.
Children who are malnourished during the window
don’t really get a second chance. They have a much higher risk of infections, illnesses, and death. One-third of all
deaths among young children are caused by malnutrition.
Those who survive will not be able to catch up by eating
healthy meals and taking extra vitamins in kindergarten.
Damage from malnutrition during the 1,000 Days lasts a
lifetime.
The percentage of children with stunted growth is an accurate indication of the severity of a nation’s malnutrition
burden. Being very short for one’s age is the most obvious
sign of chronic malnutrition, but stunting has far deeper
implications. For their entire lives, stunted children will be
more susceptible to both infectious and noninfectious diseases. Their cognitive development has also been stunted;
they will finish fewer grades in school and earn less income.
This is obviously a tragedy for the children and their
families. It also drains the potential for development of entire countries. In some developing countries, more than 40
percent of all children are stunted. The world—particularly
developing countries—faces complex problems. We can’t
afford to miss the window of opportunity, tilting the odds
permanently against so many children who are still toddlers.
The Copenhagen Consensus is a group of world-renowned economists who
named fighting malnutrition the top priority and best use of development
resources. As Nobel laureate economist Vernon Smith put it, “The benefits
from [reducing malnutrition]— in terms of increased health, schooling, and
productivity— are tremendous.”
The good news is that we now know how to ensure that children are wellnourished at age 2—and it’s not complicated. It requires straightforward
actions such as ensuring that pregnant women get essential nutrients,
supporting new mothers in breastfeeding exclusively for six months, treating
children for worms and diarrheal diseases, and providing supplemental
vitamins and minerals.
This may sound expensive, but the dollar figures, both in absolute terms
and in the “return on investment” of giving children a fair chance in life, are
By now, drought in Ethiopia
is projected to strike three years out of
four. It will be the new normal.
28 Essay 5
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Bread for the World Institute
8 percent:
The drop in students reaching
their final year of school when
stunting increases by 10 percent.