Millions of Children Still Hungry

From an article by Nick Watt on abcnews.com:

Despite several high-profile international initiatives, the number of children in the developing world who go hungry has barely fallen in the past 15 years, the children's advocacy group UNICEF said today. More than a quarter of the children in the developing world are still critically undernourished, according to a new report from the group. It also found 146 million children go hungry every day and 5.6 million kids die every year because they are not getting enough to eat - a figure that corresponds to 10 children every minute... Almost half of the world's underweight children live in just three countries - India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Apparently, the dire situation in South Asia is not caused by a shortage of food but by food that is low in quality and nutrients. Social issues also contribute to the problem. In many places, women receive little education and don't know how to best feed and care for their kids... UNICEF said that fighting child hunger requires more than food deliveries. The organization continues to promote breast-feeding and emphasizes good nutrition for kids in their first two years of life. The group also calls for more vitamin A capsules and food fortifiers, such as iodine and iron. Apparently, vitamin A capsules already save 350,000 children each year. UNICEF has also launched the "Unite for Children. Unite Against AIDS" campaign to bring care and support for those hit by the epidemic. The World Food Program, another branch of the U.N., has planned a global lottery to raise money to combat child hunger. WFP hopes to raise $500 million a year selling scratch cards at about $1.25 a pop.