Child malnutrition deaths

Campaigners and celebrities are calling for the government to take more action against hunger at this month's G8 summit as new research revealed that malnutrition is responsible for nearly half of all deaths in children under five across the world.

Read: Campaigners to protest on the causes of hunger crisis

ITV Special Correspondent Rageh Omaar reports:

Read: Nearly half of child deaths caused by malnutrition

Comedian David Walliams joined 100 schoolchildren at Downing Street today to urge the Prime Minister to help end global hunger.

The Britain's Got Talent judge called on David Cameron to lead the way in tackling the malnutrition crisis in some of the world's poorest countries.

Walliams said: "As part of my work for Comic Relief, I've seen first-hand the devastating impact that hunger and malnutrition have on children, denying them the opportunity to grow, play and learn."

He added: "It's up to all of us to show we want an end to hunger."

The Prime Minister was presented with hand-crafted plates by each of the children, representing more than 30,000 plates that have been decorated by youngsters across the UK.

It comes ahead of the G8 summit in Northern Ireland and a Nutrition for Growth event hosted by the British Government this weekend.

As new research reveals that malnutrition is responsible for 45% of all deaths in children under five across the world, Anita Tiessen, spokeswoman from the Enough Food for Everyone IF campaign, said:

Ministers will host a "Nutrition for Growth" event in London on Saturday to focus on nutrition in some of the world's poorest countries.

Campaigners will gather in Hyde Park to urge G8 action on the causes of the hunger crisis, speakers include Bill Gates and Rowan Williams.

It comes as a report in the Lancet has found:

• Last year at least 50 million children were affected by wasting, and 100 million children were underweight
• Over 90% of underweight children were in Asia or Africa, with Africa the only major world region where the number of children with stunting has increased in the last decade

• Rates of malnutrition in childhood are not falling quickly enough, with stunting affecting at least 165 million children worldwide in 2011

Lead author Professor Robert Black, of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, USA, said nutrition "has profound effects on health".

He added that food is "inextricably linked with mental and social development, especially in early childhood." He said:

Nearly half of all deaths (45%) in children under five across the world are caused by malnutrition, research has found.

It is responsible for around 3.1 million deaths in children under five annually, authors of the report published as part of The Lancet Series on maternal and child nutrition said.

Different causes of maternal and childhood malnutrition, including poor breastfeeding practices and deficiencies of vitamins and minerals were examined.

Researchers also looked at the consequences of malnutrition, including stunting (low height for age), wasting (low weight for height), and being underweight (low weight for age), all of which result in increased risk of death and illness for both pregnant women and children.