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Email, malnutrition is the leading cause of child mortality worldwide. Every year, up to two million children lose their lives to this devastating condition. That's one child every 15 seconds.
Yet despite its devastating impact, misinformation about malnutrition persists. Understanding the facts can help save lives.
Check your knowledge below, and then see how the IRC is helping children get the lifesaving treatment they need to survive.
A young child experiencing acute malnutrition receives treatment at an IRC health center in Mangalmé, Chad.
MYTH: Hunger and malnutrition are the same thing.
FACT: They're related, but they're not the same. Hunger means not having enough food to meet daily energy and nutritional needs. Malnutrition is a serious and potentially life-threatening condition that occurs when a child does not receive the adequate nutrition they need to grow and thrive.
MYTH: Malnutrition has no long term impacts.
FACT: For children who survive, the effects of malnutrition can be devastating and long-lasting. It can cause irreversible damage to brain development and significantly weaken the immune system, leaving the child more vulnerable to illness throughout their life.
MYTH: Malnutrition is hard to treat.
FACT: The IRC has a simple, effective solution to treat malnutrition. Our approach treats all forms of acute malnutrition with a single food product and point of care. We use a color-coded measuring tape to diagnose malnutrition and a nutritional peanut paste known as ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) to treat children.
With your support, the IRC is leading innovation in treating acute malnutrition, ensuring more children receive lifesaving care. Learn more now »
Thank you for everything you do for children and families in crisis.
—Heidi
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