According to UNICEF, one in four children in the world live in “severe food poverty”. These children consume between zero and two food groups daily – according to UNICEF, there are eight food groups: cereals, breast milk, dairy, fruits and vegetables rich in vitamin A, meat, other fruits and vegetables, legumes and eggs – and four in five children only feed on breast milk or dairy, according to the NGO. Of these, a total of 181 million children in extreme gravity are 50 per cent more likely to suffer from some form of malnutrition. According to UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell, “children in extreme food poverty can have irreversible negative effects on survival, growth and brain development.”

Countries continue to recover from the COVID19 pandemic, according to UNICEF, inequalities, conflicts and the climate crisis have made “the price of food and the cost of living have increased to unprecedented levels.” According to UNICEF, 64 million children in severe food poverty live in South Asia and 59 million in sub-Saharan Africa. Disputes in the Gaza Strip have led to the collapse of the food and health system, and the five data collected between December 2023 and April 2024 found that nine out of ten children on the List live in a situation of extreme food poverty.

Factors aggravating food poverty

Families of children in situations of severe food poverty do not have the resources or options to access adequate food. The organization has underlined the inability of families to facilitate healthy eating and the consumption of “sugary and ultra-processed, cheaper and less healthy beverages” by children. They mention the risk of these foods normalizing because they spread with “strong trade strategies”. UNICEF calls for action on governments, human and development organizations, donors, civil society and the food and beverage industry to end child food poverty.