Report Puts High Price on Hunger Worldwide
More than 850 million people across the world endure chronic hunger, costing nations $30 billion a year in medical treatment for underweight babies and children vulnerable to illness, a United Nations report says.
It estimates additional indirect costs of “hundreds of billions of dollars” from lost job productivity and income because of absenteeism, disability and premature death.
The number of hungry people increased by 18 million over 10 years, to 852 million in 2002, according to the report. Malnutrition kills more than 5 million children annually, it says.
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