An estimated 3.5 to 5 million children die each year from malnutrition-related causes—one death every six seconds. Yet childhood malnutrition is a medical condition that is easy to prevent and treat. Recent years have seen great improvements in our understanding of childhood malnutrition and an international consensus has emerged around the provision of therapeutic ready-to-use foods—rich in protein, vitamins, and minerals—to treat its most severe form in children under five. So why do 55 million children continue to suffer from this devastating condition?

The answer lies in part in the lack of adequate funding for effective nutritional programs. The combined contribution of the world's wealthy nations to combat malnutrition has remained flat for the past seven years (2000 to 2007). International assistance amounted to US$350 million annually out of $11.8 billion the World Bank estimates is required to adequately combat malnutrition in 36 high-burden countries.

Although billions of dollars of international assistance are currently being spent on "development food aid and food security" or "emergency food aid", less than two percent of this assistance is spent on food that includes the nutrients required to prevent childhood malnutrition.

Moreover, the food aid system is rife with inefficient practices. The US government, for example, insists on shipping in-kind food aid overseas, which costs an estimated US $600 million more than purchasing food locally.

MSF is advocating for immediate steps must be taken to increase the available funding for programs that provide appropriate nutrition to the millions of children, including an additional US$700 million, identified by the World Bank study, as the amount of funds needed to reach the 32 countries with highest prevalence of malnutrition among their child population under five.

Twelve-month-old Bahati, held by his mother, cries as an MSF health worker measures his middle-upper arm at the MSF ambulatory feeding clinic in the village of Muheto in North Kivu Province, Democratic Republic of Congo.[Democratic Republic of Congo 2009 © Michael Goldfarb/MSF]

South-eastern Central African Republic faced a severe nutritional emergency. The crisis in the gold and diamond sector, on which many of the region inhabitants depend, has been the last stroke for an already highly vulnerable population. Alerted by the local authorities, the MSF teams have opened four feeding centres in one month in Carnot, Boda, Nola and Gandoula and implemented a number of outpatient treatment programmes in the area. [Central African Republic 2009 © Fernando Calero/MSF]

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