2020 was one of the hottest years ever recorded since time immemorial.According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the average global land and ocean temperature last year was the highest ever measured, edging out the previous record set in 2016 by less than a tenth of a degree.The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) too announced recently that 2020 “rivalled 2016 for the top spot,” adding that the years from 2011 to 2020 had been the warmest decade recorded.

One of the 17 targets of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) include Zero Hunger, which is Goal 2 after Goal 1: No Poverty. The SDGs, also known as Global Goals were adopted in 2015 as a call to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity by 2030.Unfortunately, the world is not on track to achieve Zero Hunger by 2030.

Some 45 million people around the world have been infected with the COVID-19 virus, with over one million fatalities reported to date.

When the COVID-19 outbreak hit most nations around the world, governments scrambled to contain the virus and to mitigate the impacts of the pandemic. Today, over one million people have lost their lives as a result of the deadly disease. Whereas millions of others have experienced unemployment, furlough and salary cuts. In the United States (US) alone, layoffs exceeded 42 million by June this year.

Child wasting is among the most prevalent forms of undernutrition globally. The World Health Organization (WHO) has defined wasting as a low weight-for-height, or thinness due to a severe process of weight loss, often associated with insufficient food intake (nutrient and energy density), and disease.

Nutrition is central to the growth, cognitive development, school performance and future productivity of children.However, traditional and indigenous foods are slowly being cast aside in favour of modern diets that are low in nutrients and fibre but high in sugars and fats.Combined with busy lifestyles and budgetary concerns, malnutrition is taking a toll on a sizable portion of ASEAN children.A report yesterday by UNICEF, the United Nations’ children’s agency, warns that millions of

Children in Lao are hungry. This is a serious issue that the country has had to contend with for a long time now.

While malnutrition is a global plague, it is a more acute problem in Asia. According to a report by the World Health Organisation (WHO), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and World Bank Group published last year, more than half of all stunted children, almost half of all overweight children and more than two-thirds of all wasted children live in the region.Zooming into Southeast Asia, the results are, unfortunately, not too surprising. The report titled ‘Level