It is a well-known fact that the correlation between wealth or lack of wealth directly affects a child's nutrition. Especially in the developing world, undernutrition isheart-breakingly commonplace. Apparently, around 1/4 of children in the developing world are underweight. In particular, a group of Ethiopian children living in rural areas were examined. The health of those who were most "wealthy" (not by our standards in the slightest) were exceptionally higher by the age of 5. I also found it highly informative that even investments in sanitation and water made a much larger difference.
One fact I found quite interesting was that there's not a significant difference in malnutrition effects between boys and girls. Except that in a larger demographic study girls are shown to be slightly less stunted than boys. But that's slightly.
Another question the study asked was if there's the possibility of families in poorer households simply caring less about child nutrition. Their answer was "No". They claim it's more an issue of accessibility and availability of information and resources. I am not surprised. Both wealthy and poorer families seek to nourish their kids, but the wealthier have an easier time of it.
I really appreciated that the article concluded with direct ideas for change. They state that the strongest action we could take in regards to Ethiopia was to improve the sanitation and water. Apparently these two factors contribute exponentially to the well-being of kids and adults. It sounds like a such a small and easy fix from the perspective of our society. It is truly hard to fathom the difficulty of arranging such a request. But it is truth, and it is reality, and it needs to be fixed. I am grateful for all the organizations fighting for just this.
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