Analysis by Maria Wehbe, Featured Writer

April 27th, 2021

      “If we can conquer space, we can conquer childhood hunger.” – Buzz Aldrin

Childhood malnutrition is still a prevailing problem in our world today. In fact, nearly half of the deaths of children under 5 are caused by malnutrition. 

Malnutrition is very problematic, as it leaves room for other problems to surface: malnutrition increases the chance of severe infections among children, thus putting these children at a greater risk of dying. It is a problem worldwide, yet it is more a cause for concern in the MENA region. As of October 2019, more than 16 million children have been poorly nourished in the Middle East and North Africa. It has worsened in the region since the year 2000: instead of moving forward, we are just moving backwards, and we should really be putting this topic into the spotlight. Childhood Malnutrition is a growing threat to the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals, and in particular to SDG 1 (No Poverty), SDG 2 (Zero Hunger) and SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-Being). 

What are the different sub-forms of malnutrition? 

When it comes to the human body not getting the proper nutrition and diet that it needs, there are three very common sub-forms of malnutrition that can appear as a consequence: underweight, stunting and wasting. These indicators are used to measure nutritional imbalance. On one hand, stunting is the result of long-term nutritional deprivation and it can lead to delayed mental development, poorer school performance and reduced intellectual ability. On the other hand, wasting is the result of acute undernutrition; it compromises the immune system and increases the risk of infections and death. The main difference between stunting and wasting is that ‘wasted’ children are those who have a low weight in relation to their height and ‘stunted’ children are those who are small for their age. 

It is important to be aware of the different conditions that develop as a result of malnutrition in order to understand the severity of the situation. Not only that, but it is also known that the risk of infection and death due to childhood hunger is much greater than that of adult hunger, and that is because the children’s bodies aren’t fully developed, and a lack of nutrients and supplements could cost them their life. Approximately 11 million children suffer from chronic or acute malnutrition, of which over 7 million children suffer from stunting. If these rates keep on escalating at such a rapid pace, we will all need to fear for our children who might suffer from malnutrition. 

What are the leading causes of malnutrition in the MENA Region? 

One might think that the leading cause of childhood malnutrition, especially in the MENA region, is poverty, whereby poorer socio-economic groups do not have access to the adequate number of vitamins, nutrients and minerals needed to ensure that children properly grow. However, this isn’t the only reason, as one might have thought: the person’s entire environment, including their access to good services, healthy food, sanitation, and clean water, can play a very big role. One might also add the fact that many countries found within the MENA region are quite polluted, and this could harm children’s health as well. Although adults might be able to withstand these harsh conditions, children most certainly cannot. In other words, pollution rates in countries of the MENA region are very elevated: air pollution kills about 500 000 people annually. Given that pollution kills so many people, one must note that most of these people are adults. Half a million people lose their lives every year as a result of pollution, even though they have fully grown and have reached full immunity. Couple malnutrition with these harsh environmental conditions, children are bound to face serious repercussions: they will not be able to overcome the long-lasting effects of such a drastic and contaminated environment, as they are bound to succumb to it. L In fact, according to UNICEF, 10 countries of the Middle East and 8 countries of North Africa failed to achieve the sanitation and drinking water MDGs (Millennium Development Goals) put in place by the United Nations, thus leaving 30 million children without access to improved sanitation. 

How does childhood malnutrition affect the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals? 

The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, also known as the Global Goals, were adopted by all United Nations Member States back in 2015, and they are basically a universal call for action in order to end poverty, protect our earth and ensure that peace and prosperity will be present by 2030. However, one must be made aware of where these goals stand in the MENA region and whether that region is anywhere near achieving them, especially with childhood malnutrition being so prevalent. 

The first goal is No Poverty. Indeed, eradicating poverty in all of its forms would be ideal, however it is one of the greatest challenges that humanity has ever had to face. Yet, one must not neglect the fact that childhood malnutrition is resulting from poverty in one way or another, and at this current rate, numbers will not be dropping anytime soon. Childhood Malnutrition in the MENA region is a threat to this SDG, and it is contradictory how eradicating poverty is not diminishing the rates of child malnourishment. 

The second goal is Zero Hunger. Even though many countries have seen progress in relation to the rates of undernourished people due to rapid economic growth and increased agricultural productivity, this hasn’t been the case in the Middle East and North Africa. As of 2017, there are 821 million people estimated to be chronically undernourishedand over 90 million children under 5 are dangerously underweight. These numbers are very alarming and are moving us further away from achieving the SDGs by 2030, given the rapid and brisk increase. 

The third goal is about Good Health and Well-Being. The main idea is to try to improve the chances of survival by being able to overcome the leading causes of death and diseases worldwide.  However, childhood malnutrition is prevailing today more than ever, and this is very much a cause for concern. Half of the children under the age of 5 are dying as a result of malnutrition, pushing us even further away from attaining sustainability, in terms of physical wellbeing on the long term. As well, with some countries of the MENA region having a lack of access to the necessary medical services, for whatever reason it may be, these children suffering from malnutrition can’t even be treated for it, even though treatments are available: it is just a matter of access, or a lack thereof. 

Indeed, these are the three major SDGs to be affected by childhood malnutrition in the MENA region. However, once one SDG is at risk of not being achieved, it means that they all are, because all of them need to be attained if we are to live a peaceful and gracious life: these SDGs tackle the main concerns that are stripping us away from sustainable development and progress in the foreseeable future, and not conquering them is troublesome.

Childhood Malnutrition is more cause for concern than malnutrition as a whole, given that these children have not developed the proper immune system to fight off the diseases and infections that accompany this terrible fate. The children of the MENA region deserve better than to fall victims of negligence and mismanagement. Numbers do not lie, and quite frankly, they are very alarming, and they need to start dropping now, or else the repercussions could be drastic, and the long-lasting effects could be detrimental. Childhood Malnutrition does not only affect children, since it poses a threat to the SDGs, which are goals that we all need to assure so that our future is secured and peaceful. Before securing our future, we should be securing these children’s present, and we must take action now, before it is too late.