Supplements Significantly Reduce Child Mortality

NEWS

More than half of child deaths worldwide stem from preventable causes, such as adverse effects from malnutrition. A new study led by researchers at the University of California, Davis, finds that child mortality significantly drops when children receive nutritional supplements rich in vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids.

COMMENT

Despite abundant evidence that child mortality falls when children consume micronutrient-rich diets, globally around 200 million children under the age of five remain malnourished. In developing countries many children survive on as little as one meal a day. Not only does this result in numerous negative health effects, it also affects their concentration and ability to learn. This means that under-nutrition has a direct effect on a country’s economic potential.

To help counter this problem, in the Free Food for All campaign of our Movement of Life project we are teaching people in developing countries about the health-promoting properties of micronutrient-rich fruits and vegetables. We also help them set up school and community gardens where they can grow fruits and vegetables to feed themselves, their families and friends.

Our approach contrasts that of the United Nations and its various agencies. While the United Nations admits that progress in solving malnutrition is ‘too slow’, its failure to eradicate the problem has occurred despite spending large sums of money on it. Instead of teaching people in developing countries how to grow micronutrient-rich food and help themselves, the United Nations is essentially maintaining them in a state of dependency.

To read how the world’s weekly military expenditure now exceeds the annual cost of ending global hunger, see this article on our website.

To make a donation to help support our Movement of Life work, visit the Movement of Life website.