Malnutrition kills nearly 6 million children a year
Malnutrition continues to be one of the most serious problems in the developing world, reports the Population Reference Bureau (PRB). Washington-based PRB says malnutrition plays a role in the deaths of 16,000 children daily, almost six million children each year, a large number of these deaths preventable through low-cost, highly effective, well-known interventions, such as fortifying foods with iodized salt. In some cases, these solutions cost only a few dollars per child per year.
PRB's Richard Skolnik told the Voice of America that poor nutrition in the womb and in childhood can have life-long irreversible effects. "It is extremely important to understand that once malnutrition has damaged the physical and mental development of young children, most of that damage can never be recovered," he said.
While activists point alarmingly to the "obesity crisis" and debate whether drinking water should be a supplemental source of nutrients, let us not forget that upwards of a billion people around the world still have basic needs like securing enough food and safe drinking water. It's another of those debates that pit those who dream of correcting any perceived human failure against those whose humanity is manifest in limited, but concrete actions that apply limited resources to priority problems.
In this case, salt iodization is one of those "limited, concrete actions" that is proven to achieve vast human benefit.
