No African country will meet goals set to end childhood malnutrition by 2030. The goals were part of the Sustainable Development Goals set by the United Nations in 2015. They were set, "to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all". A new report, published in the journal Nature, identifies poor child nutrition across 51 African countries. Many African countries are battling to provide children with enough food. Researcher Simon Hay said the goal of ending childhood malnutrition was always an "aspirational" target, which, "is very, very far away".
There was some good news in the report. It highlighted the fact that many African nations have shown signs of improvement in childhood development since the year 2000. However, it is a different story for sub-Saharan countries. The report indicates that malnutrition remained "persistently high" in 14 countries between Senegal in the west and Somalia in the east. Many of these countries have experienced war, famine and mass migration. The researcher said considerable investment was needed in health and infrastructure in order to address "serious inequalities".