Disruption in Child Growth in Developing Countries Costs $177 Billion

According to scientific research published on Wednesday, children born this year in developing countries will lose a total of over $177 billion in potential income throughout their lives due to physical growth disruptions. Reuters reports, citing research conducted by Harvard University, that children who experience poor growth in their first year of life typically do not perform well academically, leading to lower earnings during their employment years. Harvard scholars estimate that for every dollar invested in eliminating growth deficiencies in the first year of life, there will later be a return of $3. Peter Singer, director of an organization called the Grand Challenges Canada that funded this research, stated, "$177 billion is a significant income that the world is deprived of, and it is nearly equivalent to half a percent of the GDP of developing countries. We must stop the waste of the most valuable social and economic capital in the world and ensure proper growth for children." Nutritional poverty, premature birth, inadequate breastfeeding, and early onset of infectious diseases are among the factors contributing to poor growth in 30% of children in developing countries. Jim Yong Kim, president of the World Bank, recently warned that poor child growth is "a massive unknown catastrophe." He cautioned that countries that do not invest in proper child growth in the early years will fall behind in the complex competition of the digital world. Peter Singer emphasized the World Bank president's remarks, stating that the economic value of investing in the early years of children's lives is immense. "In this period of low economic growth, neglecting this issue is the most foolish thing to do, while paying attention to it is the smartest thing one can do." Harvard public health scholars say their research is the first in-depth study on the economic consequences of child growth in poor and middle-income countries. The research indicates that despite recent successes in reducing the mortality rate of children under five, efforts to improve physical growth in the early years have been very slow. Harvard scholars estimated the $177 billion figure based on the status of 123 million children born in 2010 across 137 poor and middle-income countries. The estimated income loss due to growth disruptions in children is highest in South Asia, where children born each year in this region will collectively lose about $46 billion in their employment years. Latin America follows with an estimated loss of about $44 billion, and Sub-Saharan Africa ranks next with approximately $34 billion. The countries that stand to gain the most economically from addressing this issue are India (about $38 billion), Mexico (about $18 billion), and China (about $13 billion). Gunter Fennick, the head of this research, stated that the main methods to support children's physical growth include improving health and paying more attention to pregnancy, encouraging mothers to breastfeed their children for at least six months, and providing supplementary food during the early years of children's growth. According to him, attention to handwashing will also help prevent children from contracting diarrhea, which is a major factor that reduces nutrient absorption in children's bodies. The main activity of the Grand Challenges Canada organization, funded by the government of that country, is to implement innovative projects that positively impact global health. One of this organization's projects, titled "Saving Brains," supports new methods for better brain nutrition in the early years of children's lives.