More than half of the world's chronically undernourished children under the age of 5 live in South Asia. Chronically undernourished children are more likely to suffer serious infections and die from common illnesses such as diarrhea, measles, pneumonia and malaria, a report by the U.N. Children's Fund said. Nutritional deficiencies damage a child's ability to learn, leave many stunted and lead to lower IQs, the report said. More than 40 percent of young children are undernourished in Afghanistan, Nepal, India, Bangladesh and Pakistan, the five countries hit hardest by the problem. Nearly 83 million children under 5 in those countries do not get enough food. The paradox of South Asia is that despite healthy levels of economic growth in many countries, chronic undernutrition remains persistently and unacceptably high, says UNICEF.

This is an interesting article in the Jakarta Post looking at the indicators of poverty in Indonesia and reporting on how the country is doing. The article is positive reporting that all groups in Indonesia are getting richer, not just the very rich (although little is said about how big the gap is only that the top 1% has increased to 5%).  Measurements such as the demand for motorcycles, new savings accounts, televisions and fridges are cited and all are on the increase - the new malls to be found all over Indonesia an example of the new consumerism that the step out of poverty is creating.  One view of a complex issue.

CSR Asia is quoted widely in the Manila Bulletin today which is running an article on community investment and poverty alleviation in the run up to The Manila Forum. The Philippines seems badly affected by the economic downturn and there is a heightened role for the private sector in protecting the most vulnerable. The article stresses the need for a strategic aproach to CSR. It says that there are three key issues that are important in creating successful community investment projects during the current economic downturn. First, effective stakeholder engagement and the inclusion of community needs assessment and skills development in project planning. Second, there needs to be an emphasis on measuring outputs and impacts of CSR projects to ensure that CSR is delivering real value for money for both communities and businesses. Third, there is a need to properly communicate the projects and their successes. You can find out more about the Manila Forum here.

Whilst many of us are absorbed by the impacts of the recent financial meltdown on jobs and markets, this article points out that a food crisis is continuing to devastate much of the poor world and to reverse some of the historic advances over the past dozen or so years in reducing global poverty. The lack of investment in agriculture, along with the rapid rise in commodity prices and the ravages of the current recession, has now cast an estimated 90 million people back into abject poverty. The total now living in such extreme conditions is once again climbing above one billion, the first absolute increase in the hungry and destitute in a generation.