MILLIONS of children are dying before they reach the age of five because they are getting the wrong type of food.

And the tragedy is that this will continue until bodies such as the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the European Commission take action to stop it.

There are 195 million malnourished children throughout the world, but most of those who receive help through the global food aid system are receiving substandard food, such as fortified flour, which does not include the vital nutrients and proteins that young children need while growing.

Both the WHO and the EC acknowledged this several months ago, but have put off issuing firm guidelines to stop it.

While children continue to die unnecessarily, the EC is actually continuing to hand out money for the distribution of substandard food.

Is this really the right way to spend taxpayers’ money?

Marc DuBois, General director, Medicines Sans Frontiers.