The Grain of Rice That Could Help Cambodia Grow

SAMRAONG TONG DISTRICT, Kompong Speu Province – Laughing, Ouch Samnang jumped back and forth over a skipping rope held by his classmates. The 13-year-old goes to school in a small village in Kom­pong Speu province, he has friends, five siblings and loving parents. Overall, he is a happy child. But what Samnang doesn’t know yet is that his brain is underdeveloped for his age—simply because he is malnourished. Asked what he usually eats for lunch or dinner, Samnang’s answer is simple: rice. His friends started to giggle, and he quickly added that at times, he also eats fried vegetables or pork. His simple diet has led to stunting and he is underweight—obvious signs that other organs, including the brain, are also less developed. … Samnang is not an exception: More than 40 percent of Cambodian children share the same fate, according to a recent study by the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization, meaning that the physical development—and future—of almost half of the country’s children is hampered due to low vitamin and nutrient intake. A pilot project by L’institut de Recherche pour le Developpement (IRD) and the World Food Program (WFP) in school children around Kompong Speu province is now trying to tackle the problem by adding rice fortified with vitamins and minerals to the children’s diet. … This directly affects children’s performance in school, according to a recent report by Save the Children. Globally, malnourished children score 7 percent worse in math tests and are 19 percent less likely to read at the age of 8, according to Save the Children in their report titled Food for Thought. … This also has an effect on the wider economy, as malnourished children perform poorly in school and drop out earlier, which could decrease a country’s gross domestic product by between 2 to 11 percent, according to the report. It also says that adults who were malnourished as children are more likely to suffer from non-communicable diseases, such as hypertension and obesity. …

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