Question: Consider the following statement regarding The State of the World’s Children Report:
(1) It was released by United Nations Children’s Fund, formerly United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF).
(2) The report has said that 50 million children are affected by wasting
From the above correct statement/s is/are:
(a) Only(1)
(b) Only (2)
(c) Both (1) and (2)
(d) None of the above
Answer: (c)
Related facts:
- United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund-UNICEF has released “The State of the World’s Children Report”.
Key Highlights of the report:
- The report states that a third of the world’s children under five years of age which is around 700 million have nutrition problems.
- They are undernourished or are facing overweight problems.
- Also, at least 1 in 2 children suffer from hidden hunger.
- It has also stated that despite 40% drop in stunting of children in poor countries between 1990 and 2015,149 million are still too short for their age.
- The report warns that poor eating and feeding practices start from the earliest days of a child’s life. It stated that breastfeeding can save lives, but only 42% of children under six months of age are exclusively breastfed.
- In 2018, according to Unicef data, 149 million children under five years of age worldwide were stunted, and just under 50 million were wasted.
- The triple burden of malnutrition – undernutrition, hidden hunger and overweight – threatens the survival, growth and development of children, young people, economies and nations.
Report in context to India:
- 5% of Indian children suffer from stunting, 17% suffer from wasting,33% are underweight and 2% are overweight.
- Indian children are being diagnosed with adult diseases such as hypertension, chronic kidney disease and diabetes.
- Every second woman in the country is anaemic, as are 40.5% children.
- Among countries in South Asia, India fares the worst (54%) on the prevalence of children under five who are either stunted, wasted or overweight.
- Afghanistan and Bangladesh follow at 49% and 46%, respectively. Sri Lanka and the Maldives are the better performing countries in the region, at 28% and 32%, respectively.
- India also has the highest burden of deaths among children under five per year, with over 8 lakh deaths in 2018.
- It is followed by Nigeria, Pakistan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, at 8.6 lakh, 4.09 lakh and 2.96 lakh deaths per year, respectively.
UNICEF:
- UNICEF, acronym of United Nations Children’s Fund, formerly United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund,
- It was created by the United Nations General Assembly in 1946. It is headquartered in New York, USA.
- It is a special program of the United Nations (UN) devoted to aiding national efforts to improve the health, nutrition, education, and general welfare of children.
Links:
https://www.news18.com/news/lifestyle/1-in-3-children-under-age-of-5-undernourished-or-overweight-2346353.html
https://www.britannica.com/topic/UNICEF