Undernourishment is an important challenge

Malnutrition can arise from micro-nutrient deficiencies (i.e. lack of key vitamins and minerals which are consumed in small quantities). Anemia is an important example of 'hidden hunger'. Anemia is associated with low aerobic capacity, general weakness and lethargy, and in some cases (especially for pregnant women) it can be life-threatening.

Micro-nutrient deficiencies can be met through judiciously balanced diets, or by taking fairly cheap supplements (e.g. pills) or fortified products (e.g. iodized salt). This map shows the proportion of households who use iodized salt. As we can see, consumption remains very low in many low-income countries where iodized salt could make a huge difference. You can read more about micro-nutrient deficiencies here.

Micro-nutrient deficiencies can be met through judiciously balanced diets, or by taking fairly cheap supplements (e.g. pills) or fortified products (e.g. iodized salt). This map shows the proportion of households who use iodized salt. As we can see, consumption remains very low in many low-income countries where iodized salt could make a huge difference. You can read more about micro-nutrient deficiencies here.

Outline

• Undernourishment is an important challenge
• Undernourishment has important consequences
• Undernourishment is not the result of a world without enough food
• Permanently ending hunger requires more than a one-off push in incomes
• Malnutrition is not only about calories
• What does this mean in terms of policy?

The problem of nutrition requires thinking beyond quantity of food

The problem of nutrition requires thinking beyond quantity of food

The quality of food matters a lot, but following a careful diet is expensive even if food is cheap (information, time, and 'mental space').

"The benefits of good nutrition may be particularly strong for two sets of people who do not decide what they eat: unborn babies and young children... Small differences in investments in childhood nutrition (in Kenya, deworming costs $1.36 USD PPP per year; in India, a packet of iodized salt sells for $0.62 USD PPP; in Indonesia, fortified fish sauce costs $7 USD PPP per year) make a huge difference later on. This suggests that governments and international institutions need to completely rethink food policy. Although this may be bad news for American farmers, the solution is not to simply supply more food grains, which is what most food security programs are currently designed to do.“