A malnourished child in an MSF nutrition programme in Kenya. The colour coded bracelet is used a quick screening of malnourished children under the age of five. (Sophia Ioannou/MSF)

International medical humanitarian organisation Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) invites the public to enter the world of a malnourished child, by looking at special mirrors and seeing yourself become skinny and emaciated, walking into the tent of emergency feeding centre and tasting the therapeutic food given to malnutrition children. At MSF’s “Food is Not Enough – an exhibition on the global malnutrition crisis”, visitors will have a chance to experience the plight of the malnourished children and the challenges to tackle the malnutrition crisis.

Living in a prosperous city like Guangzhou, it is all too easy to forget that there is a lot of children are still suffering from malnutrition in the remote areas all over the world. Each year, more than five million children under the age of five perish from this preventable condition. According to estimates by the World Health Organization, as many as 178 million children worldwide suffer from malnutrition, and 20 million are in imminent danger of death. These figures will only rise as the food price increases.

The international community must act to provide these children not just with more food, but food with nutrients that are essential to growth for a child. Through this exhibition, MSF hopes to raise the awareness of the plight of malnourished children and the need to provide quality food aid to them.

MSF invites the public to visit our exhibition and stand with us to speak out on behalf of those 178 million children: “Food is not enough!”

MSF is an independent international medical humanitarian organisation. Founded in 1971, the organisation runs medical projects in over 60 countries, bringing medical assistance to people in need, irrespective of their race, religion, gender or political affiliation.

MSF is taking emergency measures to address the global malnutrition crisis. In 2006 and 2007, MSF provided medical treatment to approximately 150,000 children in 22 countries suffering from malnutrition annually. In addition to malnutrition, MSF provides aid to people whose survival is threatened due to armed conflicts, epidemics, natural and manmade disasters or exclusion from health care.