Madagascar

Across the rest of the world, absolute poverty has halved over recent decades, but in Africa it has barely fallen.About two-fifths of the population of sub-Saharan Africa survive week by week on what someone in the UK earns from just one hour's work on the minimum wage.Around one in six children born in sub-Saharan Africa don't live to see their fifth birthday and life can be tough for those who do.What are the common challenges facing African children and how do their lives compare with those of children in the UK?The very low income of many households is one reason why the health of children is often extremely poor. Madagascar has one of the highest rates of stunting in the world, with half of all children suffering from stunted growth because of an inadequate diet.It is common for families to rely on rice and cassava for the bulk of their meals – see Food & Daily Life. Often households are too poor to have meat or fish regularly, or to buy fresh fruit and vegetables. This means that many children are not eating the kinds of foods they need for proper growth.