Malnutrition rates double in NZ – what does that say about us as a people?

What does this say about us as a country?

Number of New Zealand children hospitalised with malnutrition doubles as food costs bite

Malnutrition is putting twice as many kids in hospital compared with 10 years ago, as food prices continue to bite into household incomes.

Child hospitalisation data shows around 120 children a year now have overnight stays due to nutritional deficiencies and anaemia, compared to an average 60 a decade ago.

Doctors say poor nutrition is also a factor in a significant proportion of the rest of the 40,000 annual child hospitalisations linked to poverty – and that vitamin deficiencies are more common in New Zealand compared to similar countries.

“Housing, stress and nutrition – it’s all tied together,” said pediatrician Dr Nikki Turner, from the Child Poverty Action Group. “If you want to eat nutritiously on a low-income it’s difficult, and that means you’re more likely to get sick and stay sick for longer.”

Our neoliberal cultural mythology states that if you succeed you do so as an individual so all your success is your own, likewise if you fail that’s all your fault as well.

When we in MANA tried to pass the ‘Feed the kids’ Bill, many in NZ roared that it was the parents responsibility to feed kids, despite the benefit specifically designed to be slightly less than the nutritional minimums so that beneficiaries are always hungry. This spiteful design was supposed to incentivise beneficiaries to find work.

The legacy of that spite is 40 000 annual child hospitalisations linked to poverty. When people like this…

…scream that it’s the parents responsibility to feed their kids and not the State’s, remind yourself what that actually means, it means ‘I’m happy kids go hungry and end up in hospital.

We deserve a better Government, society and country than this.