PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Developing Countries: Malnutrition (2 November 2021)

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what estimate she has made of the number of children under the age of 5 in low income countries who suffer from malnutrition in 2021 compared to (a)2020, (b) 2019 and (c) 2018.

Asked by:
Dame Harriett Baldwin (Conservative)

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the world saw moderate progress in the reduction of malnutrition globally. However, even in 2019, 144 million children under 5 years had stunted growth due to poor nutrition, and 47 million faced life-threatening wasting. Due to the impact of COVID-19 on economies, and on food and health systems, this improving trend has been reversed. Research estimates there will be an additional 9.3 million wasted, and 2.6 million stunted children from 2020 to 2022 compared to projections without COVID-19. (https://www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-123716/v1).

Answered by:
Wendy Morton (Conservative)
10 November 2021