Gates Study Warns Climate Change Will Drive 40 Million Children into Hunger by 2050

A new Gates Foundation report warns that climate change could lead to 40 million additional children suffering from hunger by 2050, causing severe malnutrition. The report urges global action to address the crisis, emphasizing the importance of health funding and scaling up nutrition solutions to prevent the worst outcomes.

A new report from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has projected that climate change will push 40 million more children into hunger by 2050, leading to severe malnutrition unless immediate action is taken. The "A Race to Nourish a Warming World" report, released as part of the annual Goalkeepers event, warns that without intervention, 40 million children will face stunting and 28 million more will suffer from wasting, both severe forms of malnutrition.

The Gates Foundation urges world leaders to prioritize global health spending to combat malnutrition and climate change’s worsening impact on children’s health. Bill Gates emphasized that malnutrition is “the world’s worst child health crisis,” further exacerbated by climate change, inflation, and global conflicts.

In 2023, the World Health Organization reported that 148 million children were affected by stunting or wasting, leaving them vulnerable to developmental delays and death. According to the Gates report, proven tools exist to address malnutrition, such as new agricultural technologies and better fortification methods for pantry staples. Scaling up these solutions could prevent millions of cases of childhood stunting, anemia, and neural tube defects, particularly in countries like India, Nigeria, and Ethiopia.

Also Read: India Rebukes Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei Over Remarks on Indian Muslims

Global health funding, including initiatives like Gavi and the Global Fund, remains critical in reducing the impact of child malnutrition and building resilience against climate change. Bill Gates calls for continued support of these programs to ensure that millions of children are saved from hunger and preventable diseases in the years to come.