KINGSTON, Jamaica - WORLDWIDE, hunger afflicts nearly a billion people, many of whom are children. Over extended periods, hunger causes malnutrition, which in turn makes the victims vulnerable to diseases which can result in death. Acute malnutrition threatens the lives of 19 million children, and every year at least 3.5 million of them die from malnutrition-related illnesses. One in four of the world's children are stunted by the ravages of malnutrition, while the bodies and brains of one in three children in developing countries are damaged by malnutrition. Iodine deficiency, a form of malnutrition caused by a lack of specific nutrients, affects one-third of schoolchildren in developing countries and is associated with a loss of 10 to 15 IQ points.