By Jemimah Wellington, JKNewsMedia Reporter
A NEW analysis by Save the Children, released ahead of the Nutrition for Growth (N4G) summit in Paris, reveals that approximately 1.12 billion children—48% of the world’s child population—cannot afford a balanced diet, raising serious concerns about child development and well-being.
The report highlights that escalating food prices, coupled with a surging cost of living, are forcing millions of families to compromise on diet quality.
Instead of nutrient-rich meals, families prioritise quantity over quality, leading to diets high in carbohydrates but deficient in essential nutrients.
According to the findings, children in low- and lower-middle-income countries are disproportionately affected, with 68% of them unable to afford a healthy diet.
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines a healthy diet as adequate, balanced, moderate, and diverse, but in 167 countries studied, nearly half of children do not have access to such a diet.
“The relatively high cost of nutritious foods is one of the greatest barriers to ensuring children receive a healthy diet,” Save the Children stated.
“When household income is limited, families prioritise feeding frequency over food quality.”
Mayra Alejandra Obregon Ocoro, a National Youth Coordinator for the Scaling Up Nutrition Civil Society Movement (SUN CSN) in Colombia, stressed the gravity of the situation.
“The fact that nearly half of the world’s children cannot afford a balanced diet is alarming and reflects a global food crisis that cannot be ignored. In Colombia, deep social inequalities mean that many children suffer from malnutrition and lack access to adequate food.”
She called on leaders at the N4G summit to implement policies aimed at reducing the cost of nutritious food, promoting local agriculture, and ensuring equitable resource distribution.
Sohanur Rahman, a National Youth Coordinator from Bangladesh, echoed these concerns. “In Bangladesh, I have seen how rising food prices, economic disparity, and climate disasters such as floods drive families into food insecurity, forcing children to rely on cheap, nutrient-poor diets.”
He urged global leaders to prioritise transformative policies, including strengthening social protection programs, supporting small-scale farmers, and investing in climate-resilient agriculture.
Hannah Stephenson, Save the Children’s Global Nutrition Lead, currently attending the N4G Summit, underscored the urgency of addressing malnutrition.
“The summit is a critical opportunity for the international community to place nutrition at the heart of the sustainable development agenda.
In a world where aid cuts are increasingly common, this is more crucial than ever.”
She added, “Healthy diets play a fundamental role in preventing malnutrition, which has lifelong consequences for children. However, nutritious food is often less affordable than unhealthy alternatives.
“Urgent collective action is needed to tackle malnutrition in all its forms.”
Save the Children has called on world leaders at the summit to commit to:
▪️Strengthening sustainable food systems.
▪️Ensuring equitable access to nutritious diets.
▪️Reinforcing health systems and universal health coverage.
▪️Enhancing social protection measures.
▪️ Empowering women and integrating nutrition outcomes into broader development policies.
“We urge leaders to prioritise evidence-based policies, increase financial commitments, and foster multi-sectoral collaboration. Only through these measures can we drive meaningful progress towards ending child malnutrition,” the organisation stated.
