Child poverty and malnutrition rise in Spain as austerity measures bite

The austerity measures the European Union has demanded that the Spanish government impose because of the economic crisis are having a deepening impact on the most vulnerable.

A recent report on child malnutrition in the autonomous community of Catalonia (7.5 million inhabitants)1 said that 50 000 children were now suffering food deprivation. As of 30 June this year, there were 751 cases of malnutrition and other poverty related diagnoses, affecting 0.06% of the child population and mostly among foreigners (56%).

In 2011, the prevalence of Catalan households that could not …