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1 in 3 people globally is malnourished; Ghana commended for reducing stunted growth

The report says, “malnutrition manifests itself in many different ways: as poor child growth and development; as individuals who are skin and bone or prone to infection; as those who carry too much weight or whose blood contains too much sugar, salt, fat or cholesterol; or those who are deficient in important vitamins or minerals.”

 

According to the GNR, malnutrition has gradually become “the new normal” in many parts of the world. The report titled; From Promise to Impact: Ending Malnutrition by 2030, found that the scale of the problem was larger than initially thought.

Aside the strong claim that a third of all humans were not eating well, it found that, in every part of the world and in almost every country, obesity and the rate of people becoming overweight were on the rise and that almost half of all deaths under the age of five could be linked to malnutrition.

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It also established a link between the loss of income and obesity and diabetes; which are aftereffects of malnutrition.

However, the report was eager to announce progress that have been made at addressing the problem. It cited Ghana as a model for many countries hoping to reduce the rate of stunting among children.

“In Ghana for example, stunting rates have almost halved – from 36 to 19 percent– in just 11 years. Many countries are also close to being on track to meet global targets; Peru and Malawi, for example, are close to being on track to meeting global targets on breastfeeding and anaemia reduction.”

The United Nations, as part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), wants to end malnutrition by 2030. Goal 2 of the SDGs says by 2030 the world should “end all forms of malnutrition, including achieving by 2025 the internationally agreed targets on stunting and wasting in children under five years of age, and address the nutritional needs of adolescent girls, pregnant and lactating women, and older persons.”

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