“Infants and young children have the greatest nutrient needs than at any other time in life. But the bodies and brains of millions of young children do not reach their full potential because they are receiving too little food, too late,” said France Begin, Senior Nutrition Adviser at Unicef.
“Poor nutrition at such a young age causes irreversible mental and physical damage,” she was quoted as saying in a Unicef statement.
The recent Unicef data showed that poor nutritional practices including the delayed introduction of solid foods, infrequent meals and lack of food variety was widely spreading, depriving children of essential nutrients when their growing brains, bones and bodies needed it the most.
Amongst the findings revealed were that half of children aged six months to two years were not fed the minimum number of meals for their age, increasing their risk of stunting; almost half of pre-school aged children suffered from anaemia and improving nutrition for young children could save 100,000 lives a year.
The statement said that making nutritious foods affordable and accessible to the poorest children would require stronger and more targeted investments from governments and the private sector.
Cash or in-kind transfers to vulnerable families, crop diversification programmes and fortification of staple foods could be the keys to improving nutrition for young children, as well as providing community-based health services that helped caregivers learn better feeding practices, and safe water and sanitation.
“We cannot afford to fail in our fight to improve nutrition for young children. Their ability to grow, learn and contribute to their country’s future depends on it,” Begin said.
The Unicef’s report “From the First Hour of Life”, provides a global mapping of infant and young child feeding practices.
Part one of the report was released on July 29, and focused on breastfeeding while the second part, released today was on complementary feeding for children aged six months to two years.