World Bank
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A. A new World Bank report warns unless action is taken within the first two years of a child’s life to improve nutrition, children will suffer irreparable damage, ultimately adversely affecting the country’s economic growth. The report, Repositioning Nutrition as Central to Development, says malnutrition remains the world’s most serious health problem. Poor nutrition is implicated in more than half of all child deaths worldwide - a proportion unmatched by any infectious disease since the Black Death. ‘Malnutrition is among the most serious health problems in the world today that has not been tackled,’ says Meera Shekar, the report’s lead author. ‘Roughly 30% of children in the world are undernourished and in fact 60% of children for example who die of common diseases like malaria and diarrhea' would not have died had they not been malnourished in the first place.’
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B. While criticizing the lack of large-scale action internationally and within countries to tackle malnutrition, the report says improving nutrition could add two to three per cent to the growth rates of poor countries. And contrary to popular belief, it reveals the rates of malnutrition in South Asia are almost double those in Sub-Saharan Africa. ‘We find the problem is much more severe in South Asia than in Sub-Saharan Africa. Roughly 50 per cent of children in South Asia are undernourished as compared to about 25 per cent in Sub-Saharan Africa. But we also find that the problem is not limited to those two regions alone. There are countries in other regions - Indonesia, Uzbekistan, Yemen, Guatemala and Peru - where the problem is acute as well.’
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C. The report dispels the notion that malnutrition is simply a problem for the world's poor countries. ‘Poor nutrition also exists elsewhere, thus suggesting it's not simply a question of access to food,’ Shekar says. ‘India and Ethiopia have about the same levels of malnutrition. And 26 per cent of children in the highest income bracket in India are underweight and 65 per cent are anemic?. Anemic children perform less well in school, are more likely to drop out and have lower intellectual and physical productivity as adults. Everyone talks about how well India is doing in the IT industry - imagine how much better it could do if 65 per cent of the richest and 88 per cent of the poorest children were not anemic!’ As Shekar says, the developed world also faces the other side of malnutrition - obesity. 'In the developed world, there’s the other aspect of malnutrition that is coming up and that is the overweight agenda. And that links very closely to non-communicable disease like cardio-vascular heart disease, diabetes and cancers.’
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D. Repositioning Nutrition as Central to Development also dispels the notion that simply putting more food into the mouths of children can overcome malnutrition. It says actions targeted to older children have little, if any, effect on improving nutrition. The emphasis of any programs3 to combat nutrition should therefore target pregnant women and children under two years of age. There is actually a very, very tight window of opportunity which is between conception through the first two years of life,’ Shekar says. 'If we miss this window, we miss a whole generation. This is the time when the damage that happens due to malnutrition is in fact essentially irreparable damage. So if we had only one dollar to invest in improving nutrition that is where we would like to focus our actions. Many people assume that feeding children later in life will improve nutrition. Well, it’s too little, too expensive and too late to improve nutrition or to improve future productivity.’
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E. Shekar says it’s now time for the international community to re-think the importance it places on the value of nutrition. As the report says, ‘the unequivocal choice now is between continuing to fail, as the global community did with HIV/AIDS for more than a decade, or to finally put nutrition at the center of development so that a wide range of economic and social improvements that depend on nutrition can be realized.’
Shekar says in the past, the international community has thought of nutrition merely as a food consumption issue or a welfare issue. ‘But the case we are making in this report is that nutrition is an investment issue. It is something that can drive economic growth rather than ride on the coat-tails of economic growth, because children who are well-nourished have been shown to have much higher income potential as adults.’The report makes the point that malnutrition is costing poor countries up to three per cent of their yearly GDP. And with the economies of many developing countries growing at a rate of two to three per cent annually, the report says improving nutrition could potentially double those rates.
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F. ‘I think the biggest challenge now is getting the donor community to rally around this issue - to put resources, both technical and financial, behind this issue. And at the same time, there’s a need to build commitment among government partners as well - to invest not only in nutrition but invest in the right kinds of things for nutrition.’ The report calls on the donor community to co-finance a grant fund to jumpstart action in commitment-building and action research. Concurrently substantive funding is needed for developing countries through existing funding channels, to scale-up actions to prevent malnutrition.
AI explanationShows the answer. Tap to open.
Question Focus: Main idea - the link between poor nutrition and child deaths
Why this is correct: This paragraph focuses strongly on child deaths and explains that malnutrition is a major cause. The statistics about death rates show that mortality is the central message, not just nutrition in general.
Passage Reference: A new World Bank report warns unless action is taken within the first two years of a child's life to improve nutrition, children will suffer irreparable damage, ultimately adversely affecting the country's economic growth. The report, Repositioning Nutrition as Central to Development, says malnutrition remains the world's most serious health problem. Poor nutrition is implicated in more than half of all child deaths worldwide - a proportion unmatched by any infectious disease since the Black Death. 'Malnutrition is among the most serious health problems in the world today that has not been tackled,' says Meera Shekar, the report's lead author. 'Roughly 30% of children in the world are undernourished and in fact 60% of children for example who die of common diseases like malaria and diarrhea' would not have died had they not been malnourished in the first place.' B.
Tips: Always ask yourself what problem the paragraph is mainly describing, not the results.
Why the other options are wrong:
- Better nutrition means a more productive country: Economic growth is mentioned, but only as a result. This paragraph is mainly about death and health, not productivity. This is a partial truth trap.
- Effective programmes for the very young: The first two years are mentioned, but there is no discussion of programmes or solutions here. This is an example-as-main-idea trap.
Key Vocabulary:
- irreparable = cannot be fixed
- implicated = involved in causing
Question Focus: Main idea - malnutrition is much worse in South Asia than in Sub-Saharan Africa
Passage Reference: And contrary to popular belief, it reveals the rates of malnutrition in South Asia are almost double those in Sub-Saharan Africa. 'We find the problem is much more severe in South Asia than in Sub-Saharan Africa. Roughly 50 per cent of children in South Asia are undernourished as compared to about 25 per cent in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Why this is correct: The paragraph says malnutrition in South Asia is almost double the rate in Sub-Saharan Africa, and it gives the numbers. Most of the paragraph compares these two regions.
Tips: Numbers for two places side by side point to a comparison heading.
Why the other options are wrong:
- A problem for rich and poor: This paragraph compares regions, not rich and poor people. This is a wrong section trap.
- Better nutrition means a more productive country: Growth rates are only one detail in the first sentence. This is a partial truth trap.
Key Vocabulary:
- contrary to popular belief = the opposite of what most people think
- undernourished = not getting enough good food
Question Focus: Main idea - malnutrition is found among the rich as well as the poor
Passage Reference: The report dispels the notion that malnutrition is simply a problem for the world's poor countries. 'Poor nutrition also exists elsewhere, thus suggesting it's not simply a question of access to food,' Shekar says. 'India and Ethiopia have about the same levels of malnutrition. And 26 per cent of children in the highest income bracket in India are underweight and 65 per cent are anemic?.
Why this is correct: The paragraph says malnutrition is not simply a problem for the world's poor countries. Rich children in India are underweight too, and rich countries face obesity.
Tips: A sentence that corrects a popular idea often gives the main idea.
Why the other options are wrong:
- Comparing Asia and Africa: India and Ethiopia are named only to show that the problem is not just about money. This is a wrong section trap.
- Effective programmes for the very young: Children are mentioned, but not programmes or age groups. This is a context shift trap.
Key Vocabulary:
- dispels the notion = shows that an idea is wrong
- anemic = without enough healthy blood
Question Focus: Main idea - help works best from pregnancy to the age of two
Passage Reference: It says actions targeted to older children have little, if any, effect on improving nutrition. The emphasis of any programs3 to combat nutrition should therefore target pregnant women and children under two years of age.
Why this is correct: Programmes for older children have little effect. Help should target pregnant women and children under two years of age. The whole paragraph is about this early time of life.
Tips: If a paragraph keeps returning to one age group, the heading is about that group.
Why the other options are wrong:
- Nutrition and child mortality: The paragraph is about when help works, not about children dying. This is a wrong section trap.
- Better nutrition means a more productive country: The words future productivity are only a detail at the end. This is a partial truth trap.
Key Vocabulary:
- target = aim at one group
- irreparable = cannot be fixed
Question Focus: Main idea - nutrition as an economic investment
Passage Reference: future productivity.' E. Shekar says it's now time for the international community to re-think the importance it places on the value of nutrition. As the report says, 'the unequivocal choice now is between continuing to fail, as the global community did with HIV/AIDS for more than a decade, or to finally put nutrition at the center4 of development so that a wide range of economic and social improvements that depend on nutrition can be realized.' Shekar says in the past, the international community has thought of nutrition merely as a food consumption issue or a welfare issue. 'But the case we are making in this report is that nutrition is an investment issue. It is something that can drive economic growth rather than ride on the coat-tails of economic growth, because children who are well-nourished have been shown to have much higher income potential as adults.' The report makes the point that malnutrition is costing poor countries up to three per cent of their yearly GDP. And with the economies of many developing countries growing at a rate of two to three per cent annually, the report says improving nutrition could potentially double those rates.
Why this is correct: This paragraph explains that nutrition drives economic growth and increases income and GDP. The message is about productivity and national development.
Tips: When money, income, and growth are repeated, look for an economic heading.
Why the other options are wrong:
- The failure of HIV/AIDS programmes: HIV/AIDS is only an example, not the main idea. This is an example-as-main-idea trap.
- Nutrition and child mortality: Deaths are not discussed here. The focus is economics. This is a wrong focus trap.
Key Vocabulary:
- unequivocal = very clear
- GDP = total value of a country's economy
Question Focus: Main idea - donors and governments must give money and support
Passage Reference: 'I think the biggest challenge now is getting the donor community to rally around this issue - to put resources, both technical and financial, behind this issue. And at the same time, there's a need to build commitment among government partners as well - to invest not only in nutrition but invest in the right kinds of things for nutrition.' The report calls on the donor community to co-finance a grant fund to jumpstart action in commitment-building and action research. Concurrently substantive funding is needed for developing countries through existing funding channels, to scale-up actions to prevent malnutrition.
Why this is correct: The paragraph says the biggest challenge is getting donors to put resources, both technical and financial behind nutrition. It also asks governments for commitment and calls for more funding.
Tips: Last paragraphs often call for action. Ask what the writer wants people to do.
Why the other options are wrong:
- The failure of HIV/AIDS programmes: HIV/AIDS is mentioned in the paragraph before, not in this one. This is a wrong section trap.
- Better nutrition means a more productive country: Economic growth was the topic of the paragraph before. This paragraph is about who will pay. This is a wrong section trap.
Key Vocabulary:
- rally around = come together to support
- co-finance = pay for something together
General Tips:
- Read all headings first and underline key words before reading the paragraphs.
- Focus on the main idea of each paragraph, not one interesting detail.
- Use paragraph order to guide you. Matching Headings follow the passage order.
- If a heading matches only one sentence, it is probably a trap.
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