Why are children so vulnerable to famine and other hunger crises? 

For children, lack of food and nutrients during the developmental stage of life can lead to lifelong setbacks. Around the world today, millions of children are malnourished.

Children in hunger crises experience "wasting", the condition in which a child’s weight and muscle mass are disproportionate to their height as a result of severe malnutrition. Their growth may also be stunted, which in turn damages their physical and cognitive development.

A child experiencing wasting or stunting is 11 times more likely to die than a healthy child, with the impacts of these conditions reducing the ability of the child to fight off and recover from usually mild illnesses like diarrhea or measles.