India,
which has the world’s biggest concentration of people in absolute poverty,
is particularly at risk. Half of all Indian children are stunted and “more
than a quarter of parents surveyed said their children went without food
sometimes or often,” said the report.
Mr Forsyth said this would impose a “surprisingly big economic cost”
because malnourished children often miss school and “are unable to
contribute as much to the country” when they reach adulthood.
Next year, Britain is set to achieve the United
Nations target of spending 0.7 per cent of national income on aid.
Mr Forsyth, a former special adviser to Tony Blair and Gordon Brown,
commended the Government for keeping this promise, noting that David Cameron
chaired a summit on vaccines last June that helped to protect millions of
children from preventable diseases.
Mr Forsyth added that he “completely” trusted the Conservatives on
aid and development, saying: “I think David Cameron, George Osborne
[the Chancellor] and Andrew Mitchell [the International Development
Secretary] really believe in this and I think they’ve made a massive
difference. They’ve stuck to the promise on aid, they’ve delivered on
vaccines and I have nothing but good things to say about them on this.”
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