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An analysis published Monday by the humanitarian group Save the Children estimates that roughly 35 kids across the globe were born into hunger every minute in 2024 — a year in which the world’s billionaires saw their combined wealth surge to a record high.
At least 18.2 million children were born into hunger this year, according to the new analysis, as war and climate-fueled extreme weather pushed around 800,000 more kids into hunger compared to 2023. Roughly half of all young child deaths worldwide are caused by malnutrition, experts say.
“Over 18 million newborns this year — 35 children a minute — were born into a world where hunger is their reality from their first moments of life,” Hannah Stephenson, global head of hunger and nutrition at Save the Children, said in a statement Monday. “Hunger knows no boundaries. It erodes childhoods, drains children’s energy, and risks robbing them of their futures. Children should be free to play or expand their minds in class. No child should be worrying about when their next meal will be.”
“We need immediate funding and safe access to humanitarian lifesaving services for children and families in desperate need of food, nutrition, healthcare, safe water, sanitation and hygiene, social protection, and livelihoods support,” Stephenson added. “We have the tools to significantly reduce the number of malnourished children right now, like we have in the past.”
Oxfam has estimated that eradicating world hunger entirely would require nations to contribute $31.7 billion more to global efforts to combat food insecurity — a fraction of the collective wealth of the planet’s 2,682 billionaires.
According to a UBS study released earlier this month, billionaire wealth has increased by 121% over the past decade, reaching a record $14 trillion this year. Billionaires located in the U.S. saw the largest gains, UBS found, with their combined wealth growing by nearly 28% this year alone.
During that same 12 months, the number of children born into hunger rose by around 5% compared to the preceding year, Save the Children’s analysis of United Nations data found.
“Children born into hunger this year include babies born in countries facing a risk of famine or catastrophic conditions of acute food insecurity including South Sudan, Haiti, Mali, and Sudan,” Save the Children observed. “In addition, there was a warning in early November of a strong likelihood that famine was imminent or already underway in the northern Gaza Strip and 345,000 people across Gaza could face catastrophic hunger in the coming months.”
The group noted that the intensifying climate crisis — which billionaires help fuel with their emission-heavy lifestyles — poses a dire threat to children’s access to food worldwide.
“More than 1.4 million babies were born into hunger in Pakistan, one of the world’s most climate-vulnerable countries,” Save the Children noted. “Pakistan saw the second highest number of babies born into hunger among countries with over 20% undernourishment.”
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