The world is right now facing the worst global food crisis in decades. The combined impact of conflicts, climate change, COVID, and the cost of inflating food prices due to the conflict in Ukraine crisis has left up to 750,000 people facing famine conditions.

Malnutrition caused by extreme hunger remains one of the biggest killers of young children around the world today. In Somalia alone, more than half of children aged under five are facing acute malnutrition, with one in six suffering from the most deadly form.

Malnutrition, at its core, is a dietary deficiency that results in poor health conditions. We typically think of malnutrition as it relates to children not eating enough of the right foods. It can also occur when children eat too much of the wrong foods. Sadly, these combined contribute to more than 170 million children failing to reach their full potential due to poor nutrition.

Here, we breakdown four major factors that contribute to malnutrition in children:

  1. Poor qualify of diet
  2. Poor maternal health
  3. Socioeconomic status
  4. War and conflict 

Read the full article about malnutrition at Save the Children.