On November 5, a lovely group of GES members and I headed downtown to Northwestern’s Chicago campus to attend a panel on childhood malnutrition, “The Global Crisis of Childhood Malnutrition: A Not-So Natural Disaster,” presented by Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and the Program of African Studies at Northwestern University.

Chris Day (a former facilitator for GES) introduced the panel, which included Will Reno, a professor of Political Science at NU; Dr. Marc Levin, an aid worker for Doctors Without Borders; and Johanne Sekkenes, the Director of Operational Support for Doctors Without Borders.  Will Reno moderated, and, guessing correctly that many of the students in the audience were hoping to follow in the speakers’ footsteps, he began by asking Dr. Levin and Sekkenes how they got to where they were, so take note: they both agreed that for international development work, knowing 2-4 languages was crucial, as well as study abroad. In fact, Dr. Levine first got involved with Doctors Without Borders through a study abroad program he did in Kenya his Junior year of college.  His main piece of advice was to “follow your dreams and passions and see where you land.”

They clarified the distinction between hunger and malnutrition: hunger relates to quantity of food, and malnutrition is a disease that relates to the quality of food.  One of the solutions that Doctors Without Borders has come up with to battle malnutrition is a product called “Plumpy’Nut,” a vitamin and nutrient fortified peanut-butter substance that, when added to a child’s daily meal, can help them recover from and avoid malnutrition.  Of the children they have treated with Plumpy’Nut, 95% of those with moderate malnutrition were cured, and 81% of those with severe malnutrition were cured.  However, they stressed that Plumpy’Nut is a safety net: what is really needed is prevention, which is a lot easier and cheaper than treatment, because treatment involves tube feeding, nurses and doctors, intensive personal care, specialized equipment, and more.

But why we should care?  10 million children die a year, and half of them, from malnutrition.  As Dr. Levin pointed out, this figure is comparable to that of genocide.  Additionally, this issue does not get much attention in the media, which tends to focus on things such as wars, infectious diseases, natural disasters.  Lastly, there are serious long-term health problems associated with malnutrition, and this has a lasting effect on a country’s development.  For example, one of the effects of malnutrition is a decreased IQ and learning capacity – and if thousands of children in the upcoming generations are malnourished, this will pose a huge obstacle for growth and development in many countries.

The speakers what their message for eager youths: communicate.  Discuss the issues, spread the word, be a voice for the kids that can’t advocate for themselves, put pressure on your local politicians, and if you want to get even more involved, fundraising is always needed.

I was left with several questions. First, how long does a child need to be on Plumpy’Nut before they are cured? Even after they are cured, where will they get nutritious food?  And, as is the problem with many international development and aid organizations, isn’t Doctors Without Borders simply putting a band-aid on the problem? I couldn’t help but leaving with the thought that though it is a wonderful and much-needed program that is doing a lot of good in the region, fundamentally government action is needed to address the problem at its roots.

For those interested in learning more about the issue, take a look at the book, “A Not So Natural Disaster.”