United Nations Radio

The Director-General of the World Health Organization, Dr. Margaret Chan, warned in Geneva on Monday that the global financial crisis is making it difficult for people to afford healthy foods.

Addressing the Economic and Social Council's high-level meeting, she noted that global trends such as the industrialization of food production and the globalization of its marketing and distribution have helped feed the hungry.

However, she adds, these trends have also contributed to a public health crisis of a dramatic increase in diet-related chronic diseases, especially in the developing world.

She says the financial and food crises have in turn exacerbated this crisis.

Dr. Margaret Chan

"When money is tight, the first things that drop out of the diet are usually the healthy foods, like fruits, vegetables and lean sources of protein, which are nearly always more expensive. Processed foods, rich in fast and sugar and low in essential nutrients, become the cheapest way to fill a hungry stomach. This is the type of diet linked to the rise of chronic diseases."

Dr. Margaret Chan says the bitter irony is that this is happening at a time when the international community is engaged in the most ambitious drive in history to reduce poverty and the great gaps in health outcomes.

Donn Bobb, United Nations Radio.

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