Tens of thousands of young children in large parts of Asia could die as a result of the food and economic crisis, the U.N. children's agency UNICEF has warned.

Under-five mortality in East Asia and the Pacific could increase by up to 11 percent in countries severely affected by the crisis, if the issue is left addressed, a UNICEF-commissioned paper says.

The figures were derived using historical data from the 1997 Asian economic crisis, when countries such as Thailand and Indonesia saw their GDP shrink by over 20 percent and child and maternal anaemia, caused by iron deficiency, increased significantly.

Already around 1.4 million East Asian children die before their fifth birthday every year, with over half the deaths attributable to malnutrition, according to UNICEF.

The paper adds there could be an increase of up to 7 percent in stunting (too short), 8 to 16 percent in wasting (too skinny), and up to 10 percent more children with low birth weight as mothers bear the brunt of food shortages.

It also says there could be a 10-20 percent increase in maternal anaemia.

Already under pressure from rising food prices, families' ability to feed themselves is compounded by the deepening financial crisis. With fewer chances of bailouts this time from the world's super powers, the paper says the situation will be particularly challenging for developing countries in the region.

"We're not encouraged by the situation," said Dr Zulfiqar Bhutta, professor of paediatrics and child health at The Aga Khan University Hospital in Karachi, who wrote the paper, "The Impact of the Food and Economic Crisis on Child Health and Nutrition".

He voiced his worries that current health and nutrition safety nets won't be adequate buffers against the expected deterioration in child and maternal health.

Working within a budget

It is not all doom and gloom however. The paper says simple measures such as exclusive breastfeeding can address child health, and preliminary calculations show an increase in such steps can reduce child deaths by close to 20 percent.

Bhutta also suggests exploring the use of health vouchers to encourage the poor to seek medical help. "In Latin America, there's a component where families received micronutrient supplements in exchange for vouchers," said Bhutta.

However, malnutrition is an often ignored topic in the region, partly because it affects the poor and marginalised most and partly because of a general perception that the region's rapid growth in the past decade has lead to a more equitable society.

Unfortunately, the numbers tell a different story. Of the 55 million under-fives in East Asia, over 35 percent are stunted and more than 20 percent are underweight, according to The Lancet medical journal.

Stunting is largely irreversible, and stunted children complete fewer years of schooling and earn less income as adults, hindering their cognitive growth and economic potential.

Also, a 2008 UNICEF report found that malnutrition figures in the region are barely better than sub-Saharan Africa (24 percent versus 28 percent).

And this is without taking into consideration India, Bangladesh and Pakistan, which together account for half the world's underweight children.

Yet, according to Bhutta, even major powers have been slow to realise the existence of inequities within their countries.

"The emphasis on nutrition in many Asian and South East Asian countries has been on the converse - the rise of obesity," he said.

If nutrition is not addressed when the countries have the means to do so, what chance does it have when the going gets tough?

What is needed, according to Bhutta, is to translate the numbers into long-term impacts - to make clear that a 5 percent increase in low birth weight has wider penalties.

"The impact is for the entire life of that individual," he said. "That child will remain stunted, will grow up to be less productive, possibly have educational impairment, and possibly have premature disease. All of this has a dollar cost."

"Sometimes people don't realise that nutrition is the fundamental underpinning of health."

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