58% of Yemeni Children Stunted from Malnutrition
Higher rates than Africa and North Korea, Yemeni kids are the second most hungry child population in the world:
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Nearly 200 million children in developing countries suffer from stunted growth and health problems due to poor nutrition in their early years, the U.N. children’s foundation UNICEF said on Wednesday.
However, the percentage of children with retarded growth in Asia fell to 30 percent last year from 44 percent in 1990, and in Africa to 34 percent from 38 percent over the same period, UNICEF said in a report…
“More than one third of children who die from pneumonia, diarrhea and other illnesses could have survived had they not been undernourished,” she said.
UNICEF said that countries with the highest prevalence of stunted growth among children under the age of five include Afghanistan (59 percent), Yemen (58 percent), Guatemala and East Timor (both 54 percent), Democratic Republic of the Congo (46 percent) and North Korea (45 percent).
The 1,000 days from conception until a child’s second birthday are the most important for growth and development, the report said. Insufficient nutrition during this period can permanently harm the body’s ability to ward off and overcome diseases and damage a child’s social and mental development.
Stunted growth, UNICEF said, can rarely be corrected. However, Veneman said it can be prevented and programs to improve access to iodized salt and vitamin A supplements in Africa and Asia have improved the situation in some countries — and led to a reduction in infant and child mortality.
