The Stabbing Knife of Malnutrition

Food is one of the components of our life, which we often take for granted sometimes. If one has faced the difficulty of getting food even for one day, He can understand the vitality of this component. For keeping us energetic and proper growth and development, it is very essential that we don't only focus on food, but more on the nutritional aspect of the food. It is not about just filling the stomach with some grains or cereals, the diet which we are taking must contribute to the nutritional requirement of our body otherwise our hunger will convert into hidden hunger and we might show the symptoms of malnutrition and undernutrition which can affect our ability to fight with infections and common disease.

But there are some people in this world, for whom getting even a one-day meal in a day is a luxury. They constitute people from all the age groups, but the most seriously affected are the kids, who lost their childhood, dreams, and sometimes even their life in struggling for getting some food.

If we talk about the statistics then according to the UN

1. Current estimates are that nearly 690 million people are hungry, or 8.9 percent of the world population – up by 10 million people in one year and by nearly 60 million in five years.

2. The majority of the world’s undernourished – 381 million – are still found in Asia. More than 250 million live in Africa, where the number of undernourished is growing faster than anywhere in the world.

3. In 2019, close to 750 million – or nearly one in ten people in the world – were exposed to severe levels of food insecurity.

4. An estimated 2 billion people in the world did not have regular access to safe, nutritious, and sufficient food in 2019.

5. If recent trends continue, the number of people affected by hunger will surpass 840 million by 2030, or 9.8 percent of the global population.

6. 144 million children under age 5 were affected by stunting in 2019, with three-quarters living in Southern Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.

7. In 2019, 6.9 percent (or 47 million) of children under 5 were affected by wasting, or acute undernutrition, a condition caused by limited nutrient intake and infection.

Due to the above facts, the goal of ZERO HUNGER is placed as the second goal of the UN in the list of sustainable development goals.

This issue needs serious consideration from policymakers to the principle scientists there are many strategies to deal with it like Biofortification, Public Distribution Systems, Food literacy campaigns, and many more.

Although I will write a detailed article on it, in this post, I would like to share my creative work on this issue.

THE STABBING KNIFE OF MALNUTRITION

At a very young age            

Many kids lost their life |

Not from an accident

But stabbed by a Knife |   

This knife kill their childhood          

And also, kill their dream |

Make their body skeletonize

Decrease their eyesight in its stream |

With tears in eyes and plate in hand

A kid asks, why life is so rude |

Why do others do a lot of parties

And I don't even have some food |

But even if they eat

Two times a day |                                     

The problem will still remain

There is no other way |

You might ask why 

in confusion or in frustration |

Because the diet they consume

Have little or no nutrition |

Nutrition must be present in their food 

Otherwise, it will result just like the line |

We have plenty of gold

which never even shine |

But, is there any solution

is there any way |

can we do something

or can we only pray |

                          

                                                                There is one solution 

which can save many nations |

In the scientific world

we call it Biofortification |

It is based on genetics

Works by breeding |

Combine all the required

in one little seeding |

                                                                  

It can save many kids

by saving their life |

and probably decrease the attack

From that stabbing knife. |