LETTER

Poverty and early childhood development

 

In India, 48% of children under five are stunted, as a result of chronic under-nutrition. Stunting prevents normal brain development and results in long-term consequences, including reduced mental ability, poor performance in school, diminished income potential and increased risk of chronic disease.

Canada contributes only 0.3% of its aid budget to early childhood development (ECD) programs; this needs to change. Investing in ECD programs ensures that children become contributing members to society, resulting in a healthy global economy.

It is crucial that we lobby our government to increase funding for official development assistance and ECD programs.

Canada has fallen short of its commitment to ending extreme poverty worldwide and we need to make sure that our leaders understand this!

Hasrit Sidhu, BSc
New Westminster, British Columbia