Malnutrition is the world’s worst child health crisis and climate change will make the situation even worse, according to Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, who is now involved in philanthropy.

“If you don’t get the right nutrition in general, both in the womb and in your early years, you will never be able to make up,” Gates told Reuters in an online interview last week, referring to a child’s physical and mental abilities, which they do not develop if good nutrition is lacking. Children without enough proper nutrition are also more vulnerable to diseases, such as measles and malaria, and to early death.

“Around 90% of the negative impact of climate change works through the food system. It’s when your crops basically fail for years because of drought or too much rain,” he said.

Gates gave the interview ahead of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s annual Goalkeepers Report, which tracks progress on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on reducing poverty and improving health. The report includes the above views.

In 2023, the World Health Organization estimated that 148 million children were stunted and 45 million stunted.

Gates called for more money for nutrition, particularly through a new UNICEF platform aimed at coordinating donor funding, the Child Nutrition Fund, as well as more research.

However, he said that the money to be allocated for this purpose should not be taken away from other proven initiatives, such as regular childhood vaccinations.

“Nutrition has been under-researched … it’s striking how important it is,” he added, noting that initiatives such as fortifying diets or improving prenatal access to multivitamins may be as effective as some vaccines in improving childhood health in poorest countries in the world.

The Gates Foundation announced in January that it plans to spend more than ever on global health this year — $6.8 billion — as broader funding efforts lag.