Nutrition

Newsline

UNICEF and ECHO save Guinean children's lives with Plumpy’nut project
CONAKRY, Guinea, 23 July 2008 – Mamadou Cissé is two years old, but until recently, he weighed less than a third of what children his age should weigh. Approximately 7 per cent of children under the age of five in Guinea are severely underweight.

Attending to the needs of severely malnourished children in eastern Ethiopia
EASTERN HARERGHE, Ethiopia, 10 July 2008 – One month ago, Kimia Gotu, six-months pregnant and a mother of four, and her two-year-old daughter, Destu Omer Hassen, were sharing the grounds of the Baroda therapeutic feeding centre with 75 severely malnourished children.

Early detection and treatment of malnutrition in Togo saves lives
BOUGOU, Togo, 2 June 2008 – Hundreds of mothers wait in the early morning at a school in Bogou, holding their children and hoping to hear good news about their prospects.

UNICEF makes plea for additional resources to help stave off malnutrition in Ethiopia
SIRARO DISRICT, Ethiopia, 2 June 2008 – UNICEF estimates that 126,000 children are in need of urgent therapeutic care for severe malnutrition in Ethiopia, and this number is likely to climb as more harvests fail.

UNICEF readies for food crisis with unique basket of solutions for children at risk
NEW YORK, USA, 28 May 2008 – Prices of basic foodstuffs are rising across the globe, and with them the spectre of hunger on a massive scale. But where hunger can be battled with less than perfect solutions – as in Haiti, where some people must resort to eating mud cakes – the long-term effect of dietary compromise cannot.

Mrs. Ban Soon-taek visits a hospital's Nutritional Rehabilitation Centre in Accra
ACCRA, Ghana, 21 May 2008 – The wife of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Mrs. Ban Soon-taek, visited the Princess Marie Louise Children’s Hospital in Accra during a trip to Ghana recently. At the hospital, she lauded the efforts of health workers providing life-saving care for malnourished children.

UNICEF seeks additional funds to aid children affected by Ethiopia’s growing food crisis
EAST HARERGHE, Ethiopia, 19 May 2008—Ibro Bekeri Yusuf’s daughter Khesna, age five, is severely malnourished. He has carried her to the UNICEF-supported therapeutic feeding unit at Bissidimo Hospital so that she can receive life-saving treatment such as therapeutic milk.

UNICEF seeks emergency support for Somalia’s undernourished children
HARGEISA, Somalia 15 February 2008 – They were noises Khadra Abdullahi knew all too well: first, the blast from a bomb; then the screams and the clanging of pots as she threw her family’s possessions into a bag and fled.

Uzbekistan fortifies foods to protect children against anaemia
TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, 4 January 2008 – Dilafruz Ashurmatova gently grasps the tiny thumbs of her five-month-old daughter, who smiles and tries to grasp her hands in return. Not long ago, even such a simple exchange was impossible.

Changing attitudes about malnutrition and gender equality in India
KOLARAS, India, 30 October 2007 – When nine-month-old twins Devki and Rahul were brought by their mother to the Nutrition Rehabilitation Centre in Kolaras, Rahul was a normal weight and size for his age, yet his sister Devki weighed just over half of what she should have. Devki’s condition was the result of severe malnutrition.

‘Breast crawl’ phenomenon benefits mothers and newborns
NANDURBAR, India – 8 August, 2007 – Early breastfeeding is a simple, natural way to ensure that a baby gets proper nutrition. But many women are not aware of the special value of breastfeeding. For them, it is often a struggle to breastfeed.

World Breastfeeding Week 2007: An early start on breast milk saves infants’ lives
NEW YORK, USA, 1 August 2007 – The results of a study conducted in Ghana show that breastfeeding babies as early as within the first hour of birth can save hundreds of thousands of infants’ lives in developing countries.

Malnutrition afflicts displaced children in camps in eastern Chad
KOUBIGOU CAMP, Chad, 5 July 2007 – The numbers keep growing, and growing fast. In 2004 there were 130,000; today, 240,000 Sudanese are in neighbouring Chad, having fled the fighting in the Darfur region of Sudan.

Uzbekistan’s Health Week campaign educates 6 million youths on proper nutrition
TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, 26 June 2007 – In view of the urgent need to raise awareness about proper nutrition in children, a national campaign called Health Week was conducted this spring in almost 10,000 schools throughout Uzbekistan.

Supplementary feeding centres boost nutrition in Pakistan quake zone
NORTH WEST FRONTIER PROVINCE, Pakistan, 12 June 2007 – At the brand new supplementary feeding centre in Attarshesha, Salma, 22, checks Usman’s weight and height. The four-year-old boy stares at the ‘Lady Health Visitor’, his eyes wide open.

ECHO and UNICEF promote Plumpy’nut production to improve child nutrition in Niger
NIAMEY, Niger, 18 May 2007 – Two years after Niger’s severe nutrition crisis, the sight of undernourished children is less common than it was, but chronic malnutrition still affects more than 50 percent of the country's young children. And 10 per cent of Niger’s children suffer from acute malnutrition, even when the harvests are good.

Nutrition crisis undermines child survival in southern Madagascar
ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar, 14 May 2007 – Dr. Ranto Andriantsara hurried to his office when told that the team had just driven into the dusty compound that houses the Amboasary hospital. He looked startled, not quite expecting his visitors that early in the morning. Graciously, he ushered them in.

Malnutrition challenges child survival in Niger, despite recent gains
New York, USA, 23 March 2007 – In Niger, one out of five children dies before the age of five, and more than half of those deaths can be attributed to malnutrition.

UNICEF Representative cites challenges and achievements in DPR Korea
NEW YORK, USA, 15 March 2007 – UNICEF’s Representative in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Gopalan Balagopal, recently held an informal meeting at UNICEF headquarters in New York, highlighting the challenges facing the country’s women and children.

UNICEF Executive Director inaugurates Ethiopia’s first Plumpy’nut factory
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, 21 February 2007 - UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman inaugurated Ethiopia’s first Plumpy’nut therapeutic food factory in Addis Ababa yesterday.

Death toll rises and children abandon school as Burundi food crisis deepens
NEW YORK, USA, 14 February 2007 – Hunger and flooding in Burundi have killed some children, have made more homeless and are keeping others out of school. Reports from a recent tour around six provinces show a mounting death toll from the crisis.

Nutrition survey checks on health of children affected by conflict in Sri Lanka
MULLAITIVU, Sri Lanka, 1 November 2006 – Three-year-old Kisharthan doesn’t quite know why he’s lying on his back on a wooden board. His father’s hand is on his head and a nurse is holding his feet. He looks alarmed and seems about to cry, but before he can start he is whisked up onto his feet again.

Outpatient therapeutic feeding improves child nutrition in Ethiopia
SIDAMA ZONE, Ethiopia, 25 October 2006 – Fifteen-month-old Shurube Hatiso plays on her mother’s lap as they await the child’s weekly nutritional and medical check-up. It is provided by the non-governmental organization Action Contre la Faim (ACF) with the support of UNICEF and the European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid Department.

UNICEF promotes exclusive breastfeeding to save children’s lives in Indonesia
FLORES, Indonesia, 17 October 2006 – With a broad smile and large, brown eyes, 15-month-old Filno seems the picture of a happy childhood. Unfortunately, the wispy-haired boy has rarely seen a healthy day in his life. Since he was four months old, he has suffered consistently from recurrent fever, influenza, asthma and a host of other health problems.

World Food Day: Protecting children from malnutrition
NEW YORK, 16 October 2006 – On World Food Day today, UNICEF is calling attention to the scourge of undernutrition that contributes to nearly half of all child deaths each year.

UNICEF mourns loss of Rainer Gross, a tireless advocate for child nutrition
NEW YORK, USA, 3 October 2006 – UNICEF is mourning the untimely loss of its Chief of Nutrition, Dr. Rainer Gross, 61, who died on 30 September.

Miss Ghana joins hands with UNICEF to advance child health and nutrition
GHANA, 2 October 2006 – I was elected Ghana’s beauty queen last year, but long before that moment, I knew that being Miss Ghana would be far more than just a title for me. The honour and privilege of winning the contest put me in a unique position to spend my time in service to others.

Cereal banks provide food security during Niger’s ‘lean season’
GUIDON GAZOBI, Niger, 29 September 2006 – The workday is long for the women and girls of Niger. It is still early in the morning when Mahou Abdou begins her daily chores – a series of strenuous tasks, all of which she will have completed before noon.

Nutrition education for mothers promotes child health in Burkina Faso
KOUDOUBMO, Burkina Faso, 21 September 2006 – In this village located in a remote area of Gourcy, Burkina Faso – one of the world’s least developed nations – a recently established nutrition rehabilitation centre is providing life-saving services to moderately undernourished children and their mothers.

Fight for survival: Saving undernourished children in Niger
MAYAHI, Niger, 18 September 2006 – Seven-month-old Ramanatou has travelled nine km with her mother to the Mayahi District Hospital in Maradi. She is suffering from diarrhoea, vomiting and a high fever. Unable even to digest her mother’s breast milk, Ramanatou is severely malnourished.

In Burkina Faso, breastfeeding programme works to lower infant mortality
KOUPELA, Burkina Faso, 4 August 2006 – In the heat of the midday sun on a busy village street, a young mother breastfeeds her three-month-old son. She knows it is the optimal source of nutrition for the child.

Regional Director visits community-based child nutrition centres in Burkina Faso
NEW YORK, USA, 3 August 2006 – UNICEF’s Regional Director for West and Central Africa, Esther Guluma, is in Burkina Faso to witness firsthand community-based efforts to tackle child malnutrition.

Baby pageant in Sierra Leone: A new strategy to encourage breastfeeding
KONO, Sierra Leone, 2 August 2006 – Proud mothers jealously compare their babies’ layers of firm flesh, holding them up for the midwives and chiefs like prize bulls.

Vitamin A health campaign targets Zimbabwean children under five
HARARE, Zimbabwe, 27 July 2006 – To rousing applause Irene Mwedziwendira steps forward with her twins at a demonstration on the benefits of taking vitamin A. At just under 160cm, she is not a tall woman, and her strides are small. But their meaning is massive. She is a member of one of Zimbabwe’s largest religious sects – the Apostolic – which bans immunization for children. Mrs. Mwedziwendira’s steps are nothing less than a leap of faith.

Breastfeeding saves lives after earthquake disaster
NEW YORK, USA, 31 July 2006 – Breastfeeding gives children the best start in life. It protects them from diseases such as diarrhoea and respiratory infections, and provides all the nutrients that newborns need to stay healthy and grow. If every child was exclusively breastfed for the first six months of life, an estimated 1.5 million young lives would be saved.

Nourishing children affected by quake in Pakistan’s northern mountains
MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan, 24 July 2006 – Young Raabya weighed eight kilograms when she was brought into a tent clinic for malnourished children. Her weight was that of a 10-month-old baby, but her actual age is 10 years old.

Both treatment and education fight child malnutrition in Comoros
ANJOUAN ISLAND, Comoros, 11 July 2006 – “Lack of knowledge is one of the most important reasons for malnutrition in Comoros,” says the head of the Domoni Therapeutic Nutrition Centre, Maissara Chaharmane.

Uzbekistan tackles iron deficiency
TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, June 2006 – To reduce serious nutritional deficiencies among women and children, the Government of Uzbekistan, aided by industry contributions and international support, is implementing a national flour fortification programme that began in 2005, financed by a $2.8 million grant over a three-year period.

In Myanmar, 5 million children receive vitamin A
OKKALAPA, Myanmar, June 2006 – In a township outside Yangon, Myanmar’s capital city, health workers visit the home of Aye Aye Thwe and give her child a free dose of vitamin A.

Survey reveals high malnutrition rates among pregnant women in Kenya
NEW YORK, USA, 4 May 2006 – Pregnant women are showing even higher rates of malnutrition than children in parts of Kenya hit by the region’s worst drought in a decade. UNICEF nutritionists, who have surveyed remote communities in Moyale, Marsabit and Samburu districts, say their findings indicate an immediate need for more assistance to ensure the most vulnerable women and children survive what has become a chronic emergency.

Funds needed urgently to fight malnutrition in Mauritania
BRAKNA, Mauritania, 4 May 2006 – BRAKNA, Mauritania, 4 May 2006 – Emmenmnin Mini Ahmed Mamhoud is a young mother of three children, ages six, four and two. Just before she gave birth to her first child, Ms. Mamhoud and her husband decided to leave their traditional nomadic life. They fixed their tent in Bouhdida, a small town in Mauritania’s Brakna region, about 250 km east of the capital, Nouakchott.

UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman launches ‘Progress for Children’
NEW YORK, USA, 2 May 2006 – UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman says poor nutrition among children threatens to become a worldwide catastrophe unless urgent action is taken.

UNICEF ‘report card’ on child nutrition reveals millions dying, calls for action
NEW YORK, 2 May 2006 – A worldwide study released today by UNICEF reveals that some 5.6 million children die every year in part because they are not getting enough of the right nutrients. And 146 million children are at risk from dying early because they are underweight.

As the ‘hunger season’ begins in Niger, UN nutrition appeal offers hope for the Sahel
NIAMEY, Niger, 28 March 2006 – This is the start of the ‘hunger season’ for the Sahel – the vast parched region of West Africa that is one of the poorest on earth – and it is beginning to show in the faces of infants. In a bid to avoid a repeat of the 2005 nutrition crisis here, the United Nations today launched a funding appeal for approximately $92 million to cover the food and nutrition needs of Sahelian countries this year.

Quick response to food crisis saves the lives of undernourished children in Madagascar
VANGAINDRANO DISTRICT, Madagascar, 16 March 2006 – After 27 days of intensive care, therapeutic feeding and her mother’s bedside vigil, two-year-old Anastasia is finally recovering. Her eyes, once dull and sickly, are now full of life.  She is almost unrecognizable as the little girl who could barely breathe when she first arrived at the health centre here.

Hungry for change: the fight against malnutrition in Timor-Leste
DILI, Timor-Leste, 25 January 2006 – Her eyes big and bright, Diana da Costa’s attention flits between the children playing among chickens in the dust outside her home, and her father who holds her tightly. Now approaching her second birthday, little Diana weighs only 6.5kgs – the weight you might expect for a six-month old baby.

UNICEF survey reveals continued high malnutrition among Niger’s children
MARADI, Niger, 21 December 2005 – This year, images of the gaunt eyes and scrawny bodies of Niger’s children shocked the world into action, taking relief supplies to the starving children. But the urgent need for food remains.

Niger: Food crisis may yet worsen
MARADI, Niger, 23 November 2005 – Startling new figures from Niger show that, since the worst of the food crisis in July, more than 12 per cent of the country’s children under 5 have been treated for some form of malnutrition. Humanitarian workers are warning that the crisis is not over; a new critical period is expected in January-March of next year.

Six million babies now saved every year through exclusive breastfeeding
NEW YORK, USA, 21 November 2005 – Fifteen years ago the Innocenti Declaration launched an initiative that would come to save the lives of millions of babies. It sought a commitment from governments to support and encourage exclusive breastfeeding, which UNICEF believes gives children the best start in life. And since the launch in 1990 global breastfeeding rates have risen by 15 per cent.

Child nutrition in Afghanistan: ‘My children are smaller than others’
KABUL, Afghanistan, 2 November 2005 – Rahera is seven years old and lives in the Kakoji district, about 40 km outside Kabul. She eats her breakfast of bread at around 7 a.m. every morning. One loaf must last Rahera, her parents and two little brothers for three days. There is usually no milk or sugar.

Myanmar: 5 million children get supplemental vitamin A to preserve vision and protect health
OKKALAPA, Myanmar, 27 October 2005 – In this township outside Myanmar’s capital Yangon, health workers visit the home of Aye Aye Thwe, and give her child a free dose of vitamin A. As Aye Aye Thwe nestles her child in her arms, a midwife gently pinches the boy’s cheeks and squeezes a few drops from a vitamin A capsule into his mouth.

World Food Day: Food is a right for all children
NEW YORK, 15 October 2005 - Today, hundreds of millions of people in the world are still suffering from hunger and malnutrition. October 16 is World Food Day, and UNICEF is calling on the international community to recognize access to food as a basic right for every child.

Community gardens provide food, income for families
AGADEZ, Niger, 14 September 2005 – Niger is struggling to cope with a nutrition crisis. But in the village of Alikinkin, community gardens are an oasis of beauty and a source of food, helping children avoid the worst effects of the crisis.

Goats for Niger villages help families cope with crisis
MARADI, Niger, 11 August 2005 – UNICEF is providing about 150 villages across Maradi region – the epicentre of Niger’s food crisis – with goats, to help families avoid the worst effects of the crisis. Mothers will have the means to feed their children better, as the goats provide them with milk, cheese, meat and even extra income.

Uzbekistan: $2.8 million for fortified flour will help fight iron deficiency
TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, 11 August 2005 – With international support, the government of Uzbekistan has launched a $2.8 million flour fortification project, in order to reduce serious nutritional deficiencies among women and children over the next three years.

Liberia: Breastfeeding Week launched on civil war battlegrounds
ZORZOR, Liberia, 3 August 2005 –  “Yoh, yoh,” UNICEF’s Henrietta Howard cried out in her native Kpelle language, summoning the audience’s attention in the traditional way. On cue, more than 200 women, many holding their infants, replied, “Yoh, yoh!” – kicking off World Breastfeeding Week in Liberia.

Breastfeeding: The best choice for babies
NEW YORK, 1 August 2005 – UNICEF and its partners, including the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action, the World Health Organization and international NGOs, are together celebrating World Breastfeeding Week, 1-7 August. Better feeding practices for children could reduce child mortality rates by almost one fifth.

India: Ban on production and sale of non-iodized salt will protect children
NEW DELHI, 24 June 2005 – In a move to protect the 25 million children born in India each year from brain damage and irreparable physical harm, the Government of India has reinstated a ban on the production and sale of non-iodized salt for human consumption.

Food shortages hit children in Niger
NEW YORK, 2 June 2005 – Hundreds of thousands of children in Niger are facing serious malnutrition because of food shortages. Swarms of locusts consumed the bulk of last year’s crops and livestock died from hunger and thirst because drought dried up pastureland.

Schools on the front line of the fight against iodine deficiency
TIRUNELVELI, India, 28 March 2005 - Vennila, a 5th grader in Tamil Nadu’s Tirunelveli district, watches a plate of salt she has brought from home with intent concentration. The headmaster of her school also watches with concern, hoping for her sake that the sample will change colour, to purple. However, sadly for Vennila, the salt remains obstinately white.

Vitamin A campaign reaches 18 million to help recover from flood
DHAKA, BANGLADESH/NEW YORK, 10 November 2004 - More than 18 million children in Bangladesh have received potentially life saving Vitamin A capsules after floods this year destroyed crops and left large parts of the country without food. One million children already face acute malnutrition and the crisis could continue for another year unless further action is taken.

Iodized salt means a brighter future for Laos and its children
BAN THA, Laos, 5 August 2004 – Vanhdy and Soudsadi Keothaune have had four children together. Even though the children are all equally loved by their parents, they are not all equally healthy.

Breastfeeding could save 1.3 million infants each year
NEW YORK, 28 July 2004 – UNICEF is joining 120 countries around the world to celebrate World Breastfeeding Week, which begins on 1 August.

The hidden hunger of the vitamin and mineral deficient child
UNICEF HOUSE 24 March, 2004 A new report launched today by UNICEF and the Micronutrient Initiative offers a global overview of vitamin and mineral deficiency - a public health issue that prevents a third of the world’s children from reaching their intellectual and physical potential.