Kin Rai Dee #HungryForHope

Good nutrition is the bedrock of child survival and development and has been at the heart of UNICEF’s mission throughout its 80 years. Founded in the devastating wake of World War II, when tens of millions of children faced starvation, UNICEF prioritised emergency food relief and saved countless young lives. Thailand was no exception. When UNICEF first arrived in 1948, malnutrition and disease claimed the lives of almost one in five children before the age of five—and the tragedy was that both were preventable. In Thailand, just as in many other countries, UNICEF worked to provide emergency food, and then developed more sustainable, long-term nutrition programmes which have saved tens of millions of lives.

However, many children are still suffering, both globally and in Thailand — too little food, or too much of the wrong kind, still costs children their lives.

Globally, one in five deaths among children under five is due to severe wasting as a result of malnutrition, making it one of the top threats to child survival. 

Malnutrition in Thailand remains a significant problem. Stunting affects one in ten children, and child obesity in Thailand among 6–14-year-olds have doubled in 25 years. Both stunting and obesity can lead to lifelong physical and mental health problems, and in severe cases, can be deadly.

Globally, UNICEF works in 190 countries, including conflict zones and the most remote regions, and provides 80 per cent of the world’s life-saving therapeutic food for acutely malnourished children. We have helped roll out growth monitoring, vitamin A supplementation, universal salt iodisation, and—especially—the promotion of breastfeeding. These actions, supported by our donors, save lives and transform futures.

Thailand’s children still face serious nutritional challenges, as outlined in the answer above. That’s why UNICEF Thailand continues working towards a future where all children receive good nutrition, adopting a whole-of-society approach. That means partnering with families, the Royal Thai Government, health services, schools, civil society, the private sector and communities to tackle malnutrition in all its forms. To give just a few examples, we are currently working on restrictions on the unhealthy food marketing to children, creating dietary guidelines with the Bureau of Nutrition, and pushing forward policies to remove unhealthy foods—and their marketing—from schools. We work in Early Childhood Development centres to foster good eating habits, provide nutrition advice directly to parents of young children, and support hospitals to pass on the best nutritional advice to parents. For UNICEF World Children’s Day 2025 we will be shining a spotlight on nutrition and engaging all of society in a robust response.

Overweight children or obese children can face as much risk as those suffering from undernutrition – this is sometimes called the double burden of malnutrition. Overweight and obesity greatly increase the risk of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease, that can shorten or impair a child’s life. This is a serious problem around the world and in Thailand, where overweight and obesity rates have doubled over the past 25 years, increasing from 6 per cent to 13 per cent among children aged 6-14.

Often but not necessarily. For example, 1 in 10 children under 5 in Thailand experience severe food poverty. Food poverty means they eat no more than two food groups per day. To meet the dietary diversity required for healthy development, children should eat five  food groups. Sometimes it is the lack of diversity in diet that can cause profound problems.

As mentioned above, obesity can lead to non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease, that can shorten or impair a child’s life. Underweight can damage development at a critical stage, which can lead to children dying or not developing to their full physical or cognitive potential. They too are vulnerable to many non-communicable diseases (sometimes referred to as diet-related NCDs). Malnutrition in both its forms can also lead to mental health problems in later life. All of these chronic diseases in children are preventable and we must act against them.

Yes there is,  and this is indeed a great challenge and one of the goals of the Kin Rai Dee campaign is to highlight some of the affordable options to create healthy diets.

Children are greatly shaped by food environments, and the modern world unfortunately makes it easier and more convenient to access unhealthy and ultra-processed foods than the healthier kind. Improving these food environments and providing support and encouragement are the priority, and this may include encouragement of exercise.

Please share our content on social media – such as news on UNICEF junior chefs, our Beyond the Bites event, our blue star gala, or more - and pass on the message of good nutrition to everyone you know, letting children know they should eat well, eat enough. Whether you are concerned about childhood obesity in Thailand, malnutrition or both, one of our core goals is to improve knowledge of healthy eating for children and to eliminate as much unhealthy food for children as possible. We want to create healthy food environments for kids and continue promoting healthy eating habits - and you can play a powerful role in spreading the word. Please support child nutrition!