Abstract
All problems in society have a scientific and an ethical aspect. Science tells us what can be done, whereas ethics tells us what should be, ought to be, or must be done. Actions that both should be done and can be done are doable actions. Science is advanced mostly by observation and logical deduction or induction. Ethics, in contrast, is advanced by consensus through reflection, dialogue, enquiry, and sometimes struggle. Adequate care of children and women has only recently been fully recognized as a human right. The UNICEF triple-A approach of assessment, analysis, and action is designed to lead to more effective and better-focused actions for ensuring adequate care of underprivileged women and children. A rights-based approach, combining goal-based and duty-based ethical theories, is also proposed. Combined with the triple-A process, this provides a holistic response for addressing nutrition problems. The international goals of the World Summit for Children represent moral minima, accepted and supported by all major religions and political ideologies.