Carnahan 1

Courtney Carnahan
Professor Packer
English 2010
7 October 2016

Suffering Children
Its quite impossible to speak about hunger, without discussing and evaluating poverty. Hunger
and poverty go hand in hand with one another. Poverty is the leading cause to hunger, and it is a major
issue that affects our world today. Most people who are hungry and living in extreme poverty live on less
than $1.25 a day. More than 800 people in the world suffer from malnourishment, with 777 million of
those individuals living in the developing world (Lancet). More than 200 million of them are children
suffering from chronic malnourishment, and are not developing to their full potential. (Lancet) An
astonishing number of 30,100 children die each day from treatable and mostly preventable malnutrition
(Raphel). Informing people about this issues can prevent these numbers from rising.
Roger Thurow traveled to Guatemala, Uganda, and Chicago for one thousand days and this is
where he witnessed how children function in various settings. He spoke about the importance of a childs
life from conception to the second year of their life. During this time, childrens ability to learn, grow,
and thrive will ultimately determine their future health. In these seminars, women were provided with
information that will help them in their endeavors to feed their children with nutritious foods.
Unfortunately, due to the high cost of nutritious items, the majority of these women arent able to afford
these kinds of foods. By donating to these developing countries, we can help improve the lives of many
and provide these families with the means to purchase nutritious foods. The organization Action against
Hunger has provided a way for us to help save a child from deadly hunger. By donating $45 dollars to
this organization, you can potentially save a childs life.

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Development of Children
About twenty-five percent of children below the age of five are stunted (low-height for age) or
underweight, and about ten percent are wasted (low-weight for height) in these developing countries
(Child Hunger Facts). These young children are unable to grow sufficiently and dont live up to their full
potential.
During the early years of childhood, the brain undergoes vital development. These early
processes have long-term effects on the brains structural and functional capacity (Lancet). In developing
countries, children suffer from stunting, which is caused by poor nutrition and infection. There are 559
million children under the age of five living in the developing countries; 156 million who are stunted, and
126 million who are living in complete poverty (Lancet).
This picture on the left provides us with information on children who are stunted, living in
poverty, and disadvantaged. The picture on the right provides us with information of disadvantaged
children under the age of 5.

Regional Distribution of the number of children under

5 years

Percentage of Disadvantaged children under 5 years by

in millions country in year 2004

One in six children in the developing countries are underweight and about 34 million children
suffer from severe malnutrition, which is a preventable and treatable disease. About 15 percent of
childrens death are caused by malnutrition. One of the main leading causes of malnutrition in children
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under the age of 5 is diarrheal disease, which is caused by unsafe water and sanitation (Hunger Facts).
This information provides us with how preventable these diseases are, and how important it is that these
children are provided with safe water, and healthy food for proper growth.
Helenas Story
Helena Onadja, lost her mother at the age of four months, and her grandmother Lissoaba became
her caretaker. She wasnt able to get the nutrition from her mothers breastmilk, so her grandmother
found some sugared concentrated milk at a local market in hopes that it would help her. After drinking
this milk for a couple of weeks she developed severe diarrhea, and became severely dehydrated and
malnourished. Her grandmother was worried, and decided to take her to the local health center where they
directed her to Action against Hunger (Action against Hunger). Helena was treated for severe
malnutrition at an early age of one and responded well to treatment. She is now fully recovered and shows
off her smile often. These organizations help in an effort to prevent children from becoming
malnourished, and try their best to help save these childrens lives.

Helene, less than a year old, was treated for severe acute malnutrition
By Action against Hunger and community health workers in Burkina
Faso.
She has now fully recovered. Photo: ACF-Burkina Faso
Helene responded well to her treatment and has recovered.
Today, she is energetic and often shows her beautiful smile.
Photo: ACF-Burkina Faso

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Works Cited
"Child Hunger Facts." Feeding America. N.p., 2016. Web. 27 Sept. 2016.

Fig 4 Regional Distribution of the Number of Children under 5 Years. 2016. The Lancet. Web. 20
Sept. 2016.

Fig 5 Percentage of Disadvantaged Children under 5 Years by Country in Year 2005. 2016.

The Lancet.(2007) 60-70 Web. 20 Sept. 2016.Grantham-McGreggor, Prof Sally, Yin Cheung Bun,
Santiago Ceuto, Prof Linda Richter, and Barbara Strupp."Developmental Potential in the First 5 Years for
Children in Developing Countries."

Helene, Less than a Year Old, Was Treated for Severe Acute Malnutrition. N.d. Action Against Hunger.
Web. 07 Oct. 2016.

Helene Responded Well to Her Treatment and Has Recovered. Today, She Is Energetic and Often
Shows Her Beautiful Smile. N.d. Action Against Hunger. Web. 07 Oct. 2016.

"Hunger Facts." Action Against Hunger. N.p., 2015.Web. 3 Oct. 2016.

Raphel, Sarah. "Children, Hunger, and Poverty." Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Nursing
27.1 (2): 45-47. 5 June 2014. Web. 27 Sept. 2016.

Thurow, Roger. "Facts on World Hunger and Poverty - a Problem That Could Readily Be Solved." N.p.,
16 July 2016. Web. 27 Sept. 2016.
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