One quarter of young children worldwide suffer effects of malnutrition, Save the Children survey shows

"Malnutrition is the root cause of the deaths of 2.6 million children each year, and the bodies and brains of 450 million more will fail to develop properly due to inadequate diet over the next 15 years unless immediate action is taken, according to a survey published Wednesday by" Save the Children, the Guardian reports (Tisdall, 2/14). "A quarter of young children around the world are not getting enough nutrients to grow properly, and 300 die of malnutrition every hour," according to the survey, "A Life Free from Hunger: Tackling Child Malnutrition," the Independent writes (Valley, 2/15).

The survey, conducted in India, Bangladesh, Peru, Pakistan and Nigeria, "found that many families could not afford meat, milk or vegetables," BBC News writes, adding, "A third of parents surveyed said their children complained about not having enough to eat" (2/15). "Soaring food prices are identified as an aggravating factor," the Guardian writes, adding, "But these damaging trends can be halted and reversed using tried and tested solutions if political will exists and public awareness is raised, the report's authors say" (2/14). In a separate article, the Guardian examines child malnutrition in Bangladesh (Tran, 2/15). Al Jazeera provides a video report of child malnutrition in India (Suri, 2/14).