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On 17th May 2011, the Montpellier Panel launched a briefing paper on Scaling Up Nutrition in the UK Parliament.

195 million children are stunted. This is a third of all children in the world who are under five years old. Of these, 90% live in just 36 countries, 21 of which are in Sub-Saharan Africa. In some African countries the proportion of children stunted is as high as 50%. Under nutrition causes an estimated 3.5 million maternal and child deaths annually. As US Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton said, “these deaths are  intolerable because they are preventable.”

Adequate nutrition is critically important during the first 1,000 days – (from pregnancy to two years old) – of a child’s life. Under nutrition increases infant and child mortality and has largely irreversible long term effects on health and on cognitive and physical development. The briefing paper, written by Montpellier Panellist Tom Arnold, CEO, Concern Worldwide and Katy Wilson, Agriculture for Impact, is available here in English and in French.