Mr. Speaker, it is estimated that 6 million children under five die each year of causes associated with malnutrition, and that over 2.5 billion of the world's 6 billion people consume inadequate amounts of micronutrients, that is, tiny amounts of essential vitamins and minerals that are not produced by the human body but are essential to human health.
Malnutrition leads to blindness, decreased learning capacity and productivity, stunted growth, below average weight, susceptibility to common infections such as diarrhea and pneumonia, and increased rates of maternal and child death.
I take this opportunity to compliment CIDA through its strategy in partnership with United Nations agencies, IRDC, governments and NGOs on tackling specific nutritional deficiencies and working to end micronutrient malnutrition.