The following excerpt is from an October 15, 2009 article published by Alert Net. To view the article in its entirety, please click here.
Written by: Anastasia Moloney
BOGOTA (AlertNet) – Child malnutrition is costing Latin American governments billions of dollars every year and is slowing down economic growth in the region, United Nations’ research shows.
Economic losses due to long-term child malnutrition amounts to an average of up to three percent of a country’s gross domestic product (GDP), according to U.N. studies focusing on more than 10 Latin American countries since 2007. ”There’s a clear relationship between child malnutrition economic loss, productivity and competitiveness,” said Alejandro Chicheri, WFP’s information officer for Latin America.
While the human cost of child malnutrition, such as physical and mental damage in children, has been well-documented, analysts are only just beginning to calculate the economic toll.
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“Hunger is a social and moral issue but it’s also an economic issue too,” said Chicheri. “Targeting malnutrition makes economic sense.” Getting Latin American governments to reposition chronic malnutrition as part of their long-term economic development plans is vital, and it may be the silver bullet that they need to break the hunger and poverty cycle, Chicheri said.
Click here to read the rest of the article, here to read more about the 2009 Food Crisis, or here to read more about Economics & Guatemala.
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