ReliefWeb

Marko Kerac1, Marie McGrath, Nichola Connell, Chytanya Kompala, William H Moore, Jeanette Bailey, Robert Bandsma, James A Berkley, André Briend, Steve Collins, Tsinuel Girma, Jonathan C Wells

INTRODUCTION

Malnutrition affects millions worldwide and underlies almost half of deaths in children aged <5 years.1 Progress towards Sustainable Development Goal 2 (End hunger) was already slow but coronavirus-related secondary impacts now threaten nutritional crises described as:

Biblical, on steroids, across generations.

Towards effective actions, effective communication matters. Malnutrition involves a plethora of complex technical terminology. Sometimes it helps to go beyond details and consider problems at broader scale, especially when engaging with non-specialist stakeholders like policymakers, funders and the public. These may not wish to know full technical nuances, but they should:

• appreciate why malnutrition matters

• hear clear, consistent messages: else they will turn to other global-health issues perceived as more straightforward

Focusing on undernutrition, we argue that a simple umbrella term, ‘Severe Malnutrition’ would benefit future communication and advocacy efforts.