Yet it is not an infectious disease. It imperils women, families and, ultimately, the viability of whole societies. It undermines the struggle of the United Nations for peace, equity and justice. Yet the worldwide crisis of malnutrition has stirred little public alarm, despite substantial and growing scientific evidence of the danger.
Malnutrition is a silent emergency.
But the crisis is real, and its persistence has profound and frightening implications for children, society and the future of humankind. Malnutrition is not, as many think, a simple matter of whether a child can satisfy her appetite. A child who eats enough to satisfy immediate hunger can still be malnourished. Three quarters of the children who die worldwide of causes related to malnutrition are what nutritionists describe as mildly to moderately malnourished and betray no out ward signs of problems to a casual observer. But such emergencies, like the ongoing crises in the Great Lakes region of Central Africa and in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, often result in the severest forms of malnutrition.