Ending Hunger in America, 2014 Hunger Report Full Report | Page 167
CHAPTER 5
programs. Nutrition-sensitive relates to underlying determinants of good nutrition, such
as investments in agriculture, health, or education. Homestead gardening programs are an
agriculture investment that is nutrition sensitive. In Bangladesh, Helen Keller International
(HKI) provided seeds and technical assistance to village families to grow nutrient-rich vegetables. In Bangladesh, a poor family’s diet consists of rice and little else. Vitamin A deficiency causes 30,000 children in Bangladesh to go blind every
year. HKI reported the children participating in the program
“Stunting is the
consumed significantly more nutrient-rich food. The surplus of
leading cause of death
vegetables also contributed to raising family incomes.
and disability among
The Lancet identified 10 evidence-based interventions proven
children under 5.”
to have an impact on the nutrition and health of children. The
cost of scaling up these interventions in the 34 countries with
90 percent of the world’s malnourished children would be $9.6 billion annually.17 It would
result in a million lives saved and avert a fifth of all stunting.18 Shared among developing
countries and donors, this should be easily affordable. It is not just money that is needed.
Many developing countries don’t have the institutional capacity to plan and deliver nutrition
interventions at scale.19
The good news on nutrition is that the governments of many of the most affected countries are committing leadership and resources, donor funding is rising, and civil society
Figure 5.2 Countries with the Highest Burden of Malnutrition
Afghanistan
Chad
Niger
Burkina Faso
Mali
Guatemala
Egypt
Sudan
Côte d’Ivoire
Ghana
Nigeria
Cameroon
Angola
Zambia
South Africa
Iraq
Yemen
Pakistan
Nepal Bangladesh
Myanmar
India
Vietnam
Philippines
Ethiopia Nepal
Kenya
Uganda Rwanda
DR Congo
Indonesia
Tanzania
Madagascar
Malawi
Mozambique
I High Burden Countries
I Other Countries
These 34 countries account for 90% of the global burden of malnutrition.
Source: The Lancet, 2013.
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