There are 7 million malnourished children under age 5 worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. Of these, one-third die either from the direct effects of starvation or from infectious diseases that stalk the very young weakened by lack of food.
The highest proportion of these children lives in the developing world.
Scientists like Revati K. Phalkey, a public health expert at the University of Heidelberg in Germany, predict the lives of millions more children will be put at risk in the future because of hunger and a lack of nutrients tied to climate change.