Nutrition

Newsline

In Madagascar, reducing malnutrition among children under five
AMBOASARY, Madagascar, 8 February 2012 – Four-year-old Nomy arrived at the hospital in Amboasary with a diagnosis of severe acute malnutrition – a potentially deadly condition – with medical complications. By 11 a.m., he had been admitted for emergency treatment.

Food shortages force children to drop out of school in Niger
NIAMEY, Niger, 6 February 2012 – The effect of food insecurity on children’s health is obvious; children, particularly those under age 5, are vulnerable to life-threatening malnutrition.

In the Central African Republic, UNICEF expands a nutrition treatment center for severely malnourished children
BANGUI, Central African Republic, 1 February 2012 - About 100 malnourished children are admitted each month in the Bangui Paediatric Hospital, many of them requiring three to four weeks of treatment.

With cash transfers, UNICEF and partners aid drought-affected families in Niger
GAWOUNAWA, Niger, 27 January 2012 – At the end of the farming season, Halima Isaka sat with her 10-month-old daughter at the edge of their family’s field, watching as her husband loaded a pile of dried millet stalks onto an oxcart.

'Smart salt' reduces iodine deficiency in Ghana
BOLGATANGA, Ghana, 26 January 2012 – Joseph Opoku pointed to a plastic container in the local restaurant, called a chop bar, belonging to his grandmother, Gertrude Azasim. “That is the smartest salt in Ghana,” he said.

In areas once affected by famine, Ethiopia builds capacity to wipe out malnutrition
GETER MEDA, Ethiopia, 24 January 2012 – Seven-month-old Aynadis played with her mother, Seta Temesgen, as they waited to be screened at the Geter Meda Health Post. Several weeks ago, Aynadis was diagnosed with severe acute malnutrition – a condition that can be deadly if untreated.

In Rwanda, community-based nutrition programmes are empowering communities to treat and prevent malnutrition
Gisenyi, Western Province, Rwanda, 23 January 2012 - In the busy lakeside town of Gisenyi, a UNICEF-supported therapeutic nutrition rehabilitation unit is helping give babies a healthy start in life.

Malnourished children receive help at UNICEF-supported nutrition centre in North Darfur, Sudan
EL FASHER, North Darfur State, Sudan, 18 January 2012 – Abu Badriya is a soft-spoken man with a face that lights up when he smiles. A traditional healer, or ‘faki’, by profession, he has become an unusual but important partner in the fight against child malnutrition in this part of Darfur.

In Haiti, an unprecedented expansion in nutrition services for children and women
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, 18 January 2012 – In two cramped UNICEF tents in the middle of the General Hospital, Head Nurse Bluette Jean-Louis and Dr. Josiane Andrianarisoa attend to severely malnourished children. Many of them are ill.

Nutrition surveillance keeps malnutrition at bay in Peru
LIMA, Peru, 9 January 2012 – In the Andean community of Rosaspata, in Vinchos District, a community health promoter has invited children, their parents and a health centre representative to the local community hall for the area’s biweekly nutrition surveillance programme.

Increasing local capacity to end child malnutrition in Haiti
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, 4 January 2012 – More than 40 women, most of them cradling babies, sit shoulder-to-shoulder in the small waiting room of the Martissant Community Clinic. By day’s end, more than 150 women will arrive to see the clinic’s medical or nutrition staff.

Cash transfers transform lives of vulnerable children in Liberia
BOMI COUNTY, Liberia, 30 December 2011 – Despite immense hardships in her life, Sara Dennis, a mother of six in Bomi County, north-western Liberia, is in high spirits. “I am illiterate and so is my husband, however all my five school-age children are educated. And in a few years, they will have finished their studies and get prestigious jobs,” she said.

A 'children's crisis' unfolds in West and Central Africa's Sahel region
NEW YORK, USA, 27 December 2011 – Even as the battle against hunger continues in the drought-hit Horn of Africa, another crisis has begun to unfold in eight countries across West Africa.

UNICEF responds to extensive flood destruction in the Philippines
ILIGAN CITY, Philippines, 21 December 2011 – In a city devastated by floods and fatalities, the arrival of Christmas is the last thing on people’s minds.

Threat of malnutrition dire in Africa's Sahel region due to increasing food shortages
DAKAR, Senegal, 12 December 2011 – It’s not a tsunami or an earthquake – it is a predictable emergency. UNICEF estimates more than a million children under five will need to be treated in feeding centres for severe malnutrition in the Sahel region of Africa. It is a staggeringly high number, and there is little time to prepare.

Field diary: Marsupials are model mums in Ghana
TAMALE, Ghana, 7 December 2011 – Kangaroos were the last thing I expected to be discussing with my new colleagues when I arrived in West Africa last month. When I moved from Australia to Tamale to write about UNICEF’s work there, I had braced myself for the unfamiliar – villages of squat mud huts, gritty harmattan winds and the crackled sound of the muezzin’s call to prayer.

In wake of the floods, malnutrition threatens thousands of children in Pakistan
JAMSHORO, Pakistan, 21 November 2011 – Mohammad Ali, of Southern Pakistan, is not the world famous boxing legend, but a true fighter nonetheless. This Mohammad Ali is just two-and-a-half-years-old and from a small village outside of Jamshoro in Pakistan’s Sindh Province. He is winning his struggle to survive after nearly succumbing to health complications associated with severe acute malnutrition.

Ekalale’s story: Health outreach saves lives in Turkana, north-west Kenya
TURKANA COUNTY, Kenya, 17 November 2011 – Akal Longor has brought her son Ekalale on one of their regular visits to the Kakwanyang Dispensary and health outreach centre. Ekalale is about a year old and small for his age, but he smiles and even takes a few steps when his mother sets him down on the floor. He is recovering from severe acute malnutrition.

UNICEF aims to make nutrition a national priority in Niger
Kollo, Niger, 17 November 2011 – In the Integrated Health Center of Kollo, South Niger, a few women holding their emaciated babies line up in front of the out-patient therapeutic feeding center (CRENAS). Zelika Marou has four children. Today, she brought her 11-month-old daughter, Fati Hama, for her weekly consultation.

Medical supplies reach Kenya, with help from the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge
NEW YORK, United States, 4 November 2011 - More than 40,000 kilogrammes of medical supplies, which the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and the Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Denmark helped to pack at the UNICEF warehouse in Copenhagen on Wednesday, have reached their destination in Nairobi, Kenya.

Zimbabwe launches health transition fund to revitalize care for children and women
MARONDERA, Zimbabwe, 2 November 2011 — In a move to revitalise Zimbabwe’s ailing health system, the Government, in partnership with UNICEF and international donors, has launched the Health Transition Fund to reduce the country’s high maternal and child mortality rates.

Q&A with UNICEF Somalia’s Hannan Sulieman: ‘It’s about children, no matter where they are’
NAIROBI, Kenya, 31 October 2011 – In a recent conversation with UNICEF.org, Hannan Sulieman, UNICEF Deputy Representative in Somalia, described the daunting challenges that face Somali children and families amidst the Horn of Africa’s worst drought crisis in decades.

UNICEF-supported Mother and Child Health Week reaches millions of children in Madagascar
ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar, 27 October 2011 – Last week, Madagascar celebrated Mother and Child Health week, a nationwide health campaign supported by UNICEF and partners to address the lack of access to basic health services for mothers. The campaign sought to enable the delivery of high-impact, low-cost child survival interventions including vitamin A supplementation for new mothers and children under five, deworming and routine immunizations, HIV testing for pregnant women, and screening for malnutrition.

Plumpy’doz distribution fights malnutrition in Madagascar’s remote south
ITAMPOLO, Madagascar, 14 October 2011 – It is 7.30 a.m. in the village of Itampolo, on Madagascar’s remote south-west coast. Outside the village health centre, Tilda Rainivomalala, 35, is among a group of women and children waiting in the shade of a mango tree. She has 10 children, and today she has brought Mahatratse, one, and Momoni, four, to the health centre to be screened for malnutrition.

UNICEF-supported programme brings hope to severely malnourished children in Viet Nam
KON TUM, Viet Nam, 13 October 2011 – Two-year-old A-Thau lives with his family in a simple house in a remote village in Kon Tum – a central highland province of Viet Nam. The smallest of six children, he is mainly looked after by his elder siblings, as his parents are too busy working in the fields to care for him all the time. Low birth weight and a lack of nutritious food resulted in recurrent illness and when his parents eventually brought him to the district hospital with a high fever and breathing difficulties, he was diagnosed as having pneumonia and severe acute malnutrition.

Former president fights against childhood malnutrition in West Africa
DAKAR, Senegal, 16 September 2011 – Former President of Cape Verde, António Manuel Mascarenhas Gomes Monteiro has made it his mission to make the fight against childhood malnutrition a priority in West Africa. Advocating directly with leaders of West African nations, he aims to place nutrition at the heart of development strategies and advise on approaches to secure policy focus.

High-profile Iranian actresses promote breastfeeding in 'Talk to Me' campaign
TEHERAN, Iran, 7 September 2011 – The three-year-old girl with a pair of lace wings runs around the coffee table with her five-year-old brother, laughing out loud, as the camera crew sets up lights and equipment around the apartment. The children’s mother, film actress Leila Hatami, asks them to go and play in their room while she offers pastries and tea to the crew.

In a Kenyan district hard-hit by drought, children survive on one meal a day
WAJIR DISTRICT, Kenya, 26 August 2011 – Either let through by the bigger children, or squeezing through unnoticed, many of the smallest were at the front when head teacher Habiba Mohamed Shuriye gave the order to serve the lunch. Their assortment of bowls, cups and jugs – held out by small, eager hands – were first to be filled from the vats of steaming porridge.

Community-based nutrition programme targets children at risk in Ethiopia
KEBSO TEKOMA, Ethiopia, 25 August 2011 – Bedria Yuya has just learned that one of her eight-month-old twins, Hehumati Shemsedin, is severely underweight. The news comes during a monthly growth-monitoring session in her village in drought-affected eastern Ethiopia.

On World Humanitarian Day, the UN celebrates the extraordinary efforts of aid workers
NEW YORK, United States, 19 August 2011 - From the Horn of Africa to Haiti, Pakistan and Japan, millions of aid workers are working tirelessly to help those in need. They brave danger and take on the greatest risks in countries far away from their homes to help others rebuild their lives, survive war and battle disease.

Feeding centres aim to alleviate chronic malnutrition in drought-affected Djibouti
BALBALA, Djibouti, 17 August 2011 – At the therapeutic feeding centre of Balbala, on the outskirts of the capital city Djibouti, Abdelfattah, 20-months-old, stares suspiciously at the visitors who have just walked in.

UNICEF provides life-saving emergency nutrition intervention to drought-affected communities in Kenya
TURKANA DISTRICT, Kenya, 15 August 2011- At the paediatric ward in Lodwar District Hospital, the persistent rasping sound of babies coughing slashes through the stillness in the room. Admitted with a variety of different ailments, the toddlers and infants occupying beds at this unit in the northwest of Kenya all have one thing in common - malnourishment caused by the drought.

Ethiopian mothers struggle to feed their children amidst drought crisis
ODOLEKA, Ethiopia, 10 August 2011 – In a small farming community just outside the capital of Addis Ababa, Montegbosh nurses her 18-month-old son. Like many young mothers in this drought-inflicted country, she is opting to nurse longer - she simply has nothing else to feed her toddler.

Government of Japan supports therapeutic feeding to treat malnutrition in Ethiopia
FEDIS DISTRICT, Ethiopia, 9 August 2011 – Zara Ahmed is worried. The youngest of her seven children, 10-month-old Nayle Kelifa, has not been eating well and has lost a lot of weight. Drought in eastern Ethiopia has delayed the harvest of corn, peanuts, cabbage, potatoes and other vegetables that Ms. Ahmed relies on to feed her children.

Feeding centres treat malnourished children amidst famine in southern Somalia
NEW YORK, USA, 8 August 2011 – Habib Isack has left her home in Wajid, southern Somalia, for the first time – but not by choice. Drought killed her crops and her livestock. Sheer desperation drove her to take her children and set out on foot for Doolow, near the border with Ethiopia, in search of help.

UNICEF and partners work to break the cycle of malnutrition and disease in DR Congo
KALEMIE, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 5 August 2011 – For the people of Kalemie, living on the shores of Lake Tanganyika, water from the lake is a lifeline – but also poses dangers, especially to children.

Staff profile: UNICEF Yemen Nutrition Officer fights child malnutrition with a passion
SANA’A, Yemen, 5 August 2011 – “I graduated in Liverpool in 2006 with a Master’s degree in tropical paediatrics, and on graduation day, someone asked me what I thought I could do with such a degree in Yemen,” Dr. Rajia Sharhan says, laughing. “I replied that I was going back to treat the children that I once didn’t know how to treat.”

Community Based Nutrition programme holds off hunger in drought-prone Ethiopia
CHANCHO, Ethiopia, 4 August 2011 – Brightly clad mothers with babies strapped to their backs make their way to the centre of Chancho village, located in the Deder district of eastern Ethiopia. There, volunteer community health worker Kasim Jibral is setting up weighing scales for the village’s monthly growth-monitoring session.

Field diary: At a refugee camp in Kenya, a father's devotion helps his young son survive
DADAAB, Kenya, 3 August 2011 – Most of the Somali refugees crossing into Kenya to escape drought and conflict are women and children. Many of the families I see queuing at the Dadaab refugee reception centres are headed by mothers, grandmothers and older sisters. I often wonder where all the men have gone.

UNICEF supports fight against child malnutrition in flood-ravaged districts of Pakistan
NOWSHERA, Pakistan, 2 August 2011 – Since the floods destroyed his crops, Ibrahim, 36, a teacher and father of four, has been struggling to make ends meet for his family. Ibrahim’s two youngest children have been recovering from severe acute malnutrition.

Spreading the word about infant and young child nutrition in Uganda
KIBIITO, Uganda, 2 August 2011 – In the lush district of Kibiito, western Uganda, the morning mists have quickly burned off the banana-covered hillsides by the time mothers have lined up at a local health centre for check-ups. Some women carry children on their backs, wrapped tightly in a colourful tied cloth known as a kitenge. One mother simply balances her baby on her hip, casually shifting him from side to side as the line moves forward.

A greater humanitarian response is needed as crisis deepens in the Horn of Africa
NEW YORK, USA, 5 August 2011 – As the crisis in the Horn of Africa deepens, the United Nations has warned that all of southern Somalia could slip into famine in the next two months. Just this week, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs declared that three new areas in Somalia have deteriorated into a famine situation.

In Ethiopia, UNICEF-supported programme fights malnutrition amidst severe drought
BELINA ARBA, FEDIS, 25 July 2011 – Genete Mohammed carries her 18-month-old daughter Iman to the Belina Arba Health Post in drought-affected Fedis District in Eastern Ethiopia for the weekly UNICEF-supported outpatient therapeutic programme (OTP).

UNICEF delivers crucial supplies as the situation in the Horn of Africa deteriorates
NEW YORK, USA, 22 July 2011 – A tragedy of epic proportions is unfolding in the Horn of Africa, where hundreds of thousands of children are facing death due to starvation. The disastrous combination of a paralyzing drought, skyrocketing food prices and conflict has left over 11 million people battling hunger to survive.

UNICEF responds to Horn of Africa food crisis that has left 2 million children malnourished
DADAAB, Kenya, 11 July 2011 – It was a difficult decision, but in the end Hawa Issak decided to leave her home. The drought had destroyed her family’s livelihood, her husband had left her and she was pregnant. She did not see any future in southern Somalia’s Gedo Region, so she joined up with six other families, hoping to find help in neighbouring Kenya.

South Sudan and UNICEF inaugurate a new ward at the country’s only children’s hospital
JUBA, South Sudan, 8 July 2011 - As South Sudan prepares for its independence, the opening of a new ward at a children’s hospital marks a small but significant step towards tackling the daunting challenges facing public health officials in the region.

Millions need urgent aid amidst drought, conflict and food crisis in the Horn of Africa
NAIROBI, Kenya, 5 July 2011 – More than 10 million people across the Horn of Africa are in dire need of humanitarian assistance due to a deadly combination of drought, escalating food prices and armed conflict. Among the most vulnerable are 2 million children under the age of five in Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia and Djibouti.

Mobile clinics protect children from malnutrition in post-flood Pakistan
SINDH PROVINCE, Pakistan, 30 June 2011 – The battle against child malnutrition in Pakistan’s flood-affected Sindh Province is reaching even the smallest, most isolated villages with the help of UNICEF-supported mobile health teams.

Cash transfer initiative breaks cycle of poverty for families in the Philippines
PASAY CITY, Philippines, 29 June 2011 – Despite much discussed economic growth in the Philippines before the global recession, more than 40 per cent of Filipino households live on less than $2 a day. To break the cycle of poverty, the Government has launched a five-year-long conditional cash transfer programme known as the ‘Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Programme’ or ‘4Ps’.

In South Africa, a neonatal care initiative builds health and saves lives
LIMPOPO, South Africa, 23 June 2011 – It’s a sad fact that 83 per cent of children in Limpopo province live in poverty. So you’d assume that Malamulele District Hospital probably performs poorly – especially since most of South Africa’s infant mortality rates are linked to district hospitals.

Basketball stars visit UNICEF-supported malnutrition treatment centre in Haiti
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, 14 June 2011 – UNICEF Haiti hosted National Basketball Association (NBA) Star and Sacramento Kings’ centre Samuel Dalembert and Nykesha Sales, a six-time Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) All-Star, in a visit to a malnutrition centre in a hospital still recovering from the January 2010 earthquake.

UNICEF-supported programme tackles malnutrition on tea estates in Sri Lanka
NUWARA ELIYA, Sri Lanka, 31 May 2011 - A new day beckons in central Sri Lanka’s tea estates. Mother-of-five and picker of tea, Marystella, is up at 5.30 am to prepare the family’s breakfast in their spartan, tiny house.

UNICEF-trained volunteers promote exclusive breastfeeding in Republic of the Union of Myanmar
PHYU, Republic of the Union of Myanmar, 26 April 2011 – Daw Than Than Sein, 62, has seen and done it all when it comes to child rearing. She is a mother of 10 and has eight grandchildren.

Health workers and community members work together to prevent child malnutrition in Ethiopia
DEDER DISTRICT, Ethiopia, 20 April 2011 – Sartu Abdela, a community health worker in the village of Oda Kebena, holds a meeting for mothers with children under the age of two in a local administration office. The mothers, wrapped in colourful outfits, have come for a monthly nutrition check-up for their children, who will be weighed and have their mid-upper arm circumference measured.

Fighting malnutrition and building capacity for child health in Haiti's camps
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, 13 April 2011 – Thanks to UNICEF and its partners, many mothers in Port-au-Prince are now more aware of the dangers even mild malnutrition in early childhood poses to the mental and physical well-being and development of their children.

Report by UN agencies highlights food crisis in Democratic People's Republic of Korea
NEW YORK, USA, 7 April 2011 – The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) is running out of food. About a quarter of the population – some 6 million people – don’t have enough to eat, according to a new report by UN agencies. Nearly a million of them are children under the age of five.

UNICEF Executive Director sees progress of community-based programmes in Ethiopia
GONDAR, Ethiopia, 5 April 2011 – UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake visited a number of programmes that are following an equity-based strategy designed to reach out to the poorest and most vulnerable communities during his recent visit to Ethiopia.

Lake Chad's receding water level heightens risks of malnutrition and disease
BOL, Chad, 9 February 2011 – Yakowra Malloum commands respect as she enters the Sultan’s compound in the centre of Bol. Covered in a bright coloured scarf, with an intricate floral henna design running down her arms, she looks like many of the other women who have gathered in the later hours of a hot sunny afternoon. But this trained pharmacist, who has spent the last 20 years working with the Ministry of Health, is different.

UNICEF and partners respond to a drought and nutrition emergency in Chad
MAO, Chad, 24 January 2011 – After four weeks in a hospital feeding centre, Fatime, 5, weighs 7 kg – less than half what a child her age should weigh. This is good news.

UNICEF-supported health centres combat malnutrition in Niger
TAKIETA, Niger, 4 January 2011 – Seeking shade from the scorching midday heat, a small crowd of mothers who have brought their children in for malnutrition screening gather at the public health centre in Niger’s south-central Maradi Region.

In Somalia, UNICEF-supported programme treats malnutrition before it becomes life-threatening
HARGEISA, Somalia, 30 December 2010 – Salman Haji, 4, stands in the corner of a tin-walled hut, solemnly staring at the man in the white coat as he searches through an impressive amount of official looking paper spread across a large table in a seemingly random fashion. Eventually, a yellow medical card is found recording the details of Salman’s last visit to this mobile clinic, located on the outskirts of Hargeisa.

Community mobilizers help to fight childhood malnutrition in Somalia
HARGEISA, Somalia, 22 December 2010 – Halima Awali, 60, shushes the crowd of boisterous children gathered around her and proclaims, “I was there to bring almost all of these babies into the world.” Squinting into the fierce noon Somaliland sun, the smiling grandmother adds, “Now I am here to make sure all of them stay here.”

UNICEF trains health volunteers to promote exclusive breastfeeding in Myanmar
OKTWIN, Myanmar, 6 December 2010 – Bant Bwae Kone village in Oktwin township, located in Myanmar’s Bago Region, is one of the villages selected by UNICEF and the National Nutrition Centre (NNC) at the Ministry of Health in a new initiative to promote exclusive breastfeeding for infants and young children.

Nutrition in a time of cholera: A challenge for Haitian mothers and babies
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, 6 December 2010 – In the cramped and squalid conditions of the tented city in Mais Gate, a camp for Haitians displaced by the January earthquake, baby Sebastian brings a sparkle to his mother Lucienne’s eyes.

Italian Goodwill Ambassador Roberto Bolle highlights malnutrition in Central African Republic
BANGUI, Central African Republic, 30 November 2010 – During a trip here in early November, acclaimed dancer and UNICEF Italy Goodwill Ambassador Roberto Bolle witnessed first-hand the malnutrition crisis afflicting children in CAR.

Inter-faith leaders advocate for breastfeeding in Nepal
KATHMANDU, Nepal, 30 November 2010 – Marking the recent World Day of Prayer and Action for Children, representatives of various religious faiths joined hands with UNICEF Nepal in advocating better lives for children around the globe.

UNICEF supports efforts to fight malnutrition in Pakistan's flood-affected Sindh Province
THATTA DISTRICT, Pakistan, 22 November 2010 – The devastating monsoon floods that recently affected more than 20 million people in Pakistan – including 2.8 million children under the age of five – have brought many underlying problems to the surface. In a country that already had alarmingly high rates of malnutrition, the floods have made the situation worse.

UNICEF supports Mother and Child Health Week amidst crisis in Madagascar
ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar, 8 November 2010 – Volatiana Rafaramalala sat in the community hall of Ankazotoho Anosimahavelona, a neighbourhood of nearly 11 000 people, on the outskirts of Madagascar’s capital, Antananarivo.

Promoting breastfeeding remains a top health priority in Syria
LATAKIA, Syrian Arab Republic, 21 October 2010 – Syrian mother Jenna Mouna is well aware of the benefits of breastfeeding her newborn. Having given birth in a UNICEF-supported baby-friendly hospital, she’s being well taken care of by healthcare workers trained in a 10-step programme designed to promote breastfeeding.

Young flood survivors in Pakistan face an uphill struggle against malnutrition
MINGORA, Pakistan, 13 October 2010 – Last month, Najma Syed Ali Khan, 19, brought her seven-month-old daughter Rukhsar to the Nutrition Stabilization Centre at Saidu Teaching Hospital here in the Swat district of north-western Pakistan. Distressed and confused, Najma learned that the baby was not only severely malnourished but also suffered from gastroenteritis.

MDG summit events close at UNICEF with a call to action on helping the most vulnerable
NEW YORK, USA, 23 September 2010 – At UNICEF’s closing event for the UN Millennium Development Goals summit last night, experts and world leaders gathered to highlight the importance of reaching the world’s most disadvantaged and hardest-to-reach children in order to achieve the MDGs with equity by 2015.

On day two, events at MDG summit spotlight HIV/AIDS, nutrition, partnerships – and equity
NEW YORK, USA, 21 September 2010 – UNICEF took part in a packed agenda of side events during the second day of the UN Millennium Development Goals summit, spotlighting progress made and challenges ahead on HIV/AIDS, child health and nutrition.

Micronutrient supplementation brings new hope for children in Nepal
PALPA DISTRICT, Nepal, 15 September 2010 – Leela Rana has been volunteering as a Female Community Health Volunteer for the past five years. In this role she provides counselling and basic health and nutrition services to members of her community.

UNICEF and partners help Lao PDR Government address ‘alarming’ malnutrition levels
VIENTIANE, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, 14 September 2010 – UNICEF and partners have joined forces with the Ministry of Health in Lao PDR to address worrying levels of malnutrition among children living in remote areas of the country.

UNICEF and IKEA partner for healthier babies in Jharkand state, India
KHUNTI, India, 2 September 2010 – Bilkani Sangha shakes her head in amazement when she recalls how she first fed her newborn baby. She remembers dipping a cloth into warm goat’s milk mixed with honey and jungle herbs, then slowly dripping the concoction into her tiny child’s mouth.

Field diary: More efforts needed to help Somali families survive and thrive
BOSSASO and GAROWE, Somalia, 1 September 2010 – As soon as I arrived in Bossaso, the main port town located in northeast Somalia, the scorching heat, strong wind and barren plains brought back the memory of my past experience in Somalia.

In a programme expanding across India, UNICEF and IKEA provide life-saving supplements
PAKAULI, India, 24 August 2010 – With promises of “sweet, sweet,” health worker Rita Kumari eases a teaspoon of liquid into two-year-old Kajal’s mouth. “There now, little one, you will be safe and feel better,” said Ms. Kumari. The toddler swallows the last drops of the diluted zinc tablet, a supplement that will help her fight a potentially deadly case of diarrhoea.

Alongside Syrian health workers, UNICEF battles varied causes of malnutrition
AL-HASAKEH, Syrian Arab Republic, 18 August 2010 – Syria’s Al-Hasakah governorate is just minutes away from Mosul, one of Iraq’s most violent cities. Yet one of the biggest challenges facing children here is an alarming rise in malnutrition perpetuated by a constant drought.

A campaign to promote exclusive breastfeeding makes strides in rural Niger
GIDAN NAWA, Niger, 6 August 2010 – A quiet revolution is taking place in this dusty village in Niger. Everywhere you look – in the courtyards of family compounds, under the big tree at the village gathering place, even at the well as they gather water – women are breastfeeding their children.

In rural Ethiopia, health extension workers bring care to new mothers
WONDO GENET, Ethiopia, 5 August 2010 – Beaming with pride, new mother Martha Getachew arrives at the Wosha and Soyama village health clinic in central Ethiopia. She is greeted fondly by community health workers, known here as ‘health extension workers.’

UNICEF and partners respond as food crisis in Niger reaches a critical level
GAZOURA, Niger, 3 August 2010 – Much-needed rains have begun falling across this parched West African country, breaking one of the most devastating droughts in memory. But Niger remains in the grip of a severe food crisis whose effects have been especially hard on women and children.

A Chadian mother discovers the benefits of exclusive breastfeeding
SAHELIAN REGION, Chad, 3 August 2010 – Exclusive breastfeeding – one of the best ways to protect an infant’s health – means feeding a baby only with maternal milk from birth to six months, and giving it no other liquid. Breastmilk is easy for a baby to digest, fully meets its nutritional needs and protects against illness by transferring a mother’s immunity or disease resistance to her child.

In tea country, Indian mothers learn the importance of breastfeeding
DIBRUGARH, India, 24 June 2010 – Durowpadi Bedia, an ‘Angawadi’ community health worker at the Nahortoli Tea Estate in the north-eastern Indian state of Assam, takes her job very seriously.

Health centres focus on treatment of undernourished children in Niger
MIRRIAH, Niger, 18 June 2010 – When Baraka, a young mother in Guidimouni, southern Niger, took her 13-month-old son Abdul to the local health centre, tests showed that he was suffering from severe acute malnutrition and malaria. He spent a week in an outpatient feeding programme but continued to lose weight.

In Liberia, UNICEF and partners take fight for better nutrition to community clinics
MONTSERRADO COUNTY, Liberia, 16 June 2010 – In an effort to reduce child mortality, UNICEF and its partners in Liberia are working with several community clinics to provide daily outpatient therapeutic feeding for children suffering from under-nutrition in several Liberian counties.

Bitter seeds: Addressing the most recent nutrition crisis in Niger
ANGALNADINAO, Niger, May 2010 – “This year’s harvest was disastrous,” says Ali, the Angalnadinao village chief. “No cowpeas, no millet, no peanuts – nothing, absolutely nothing, was harvested. A total crop failure.”

Amidst severe food crisis, health and nutrition centres support children in Chad
MOUSSORO, Chad, 27 May 2010 – Radié Hami holds her baby girl, Achta, close to her as they wait at the new Moussoro health and nutrition centre. The young mother is accompanied by her husband and an uncle. As a nomadic family, it is their first visit to the centre and their first time in town.

In drought-stricken Madagascar, community health agents save lives
ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar, 26 May 2010 – Thousands of children were treated for severe acute malnutrition last year in southern Madagascar, where lack of rain and crop failures continue to threaten food security. Across the affected zone, more than 230,000 children under five years old remain at risk of malnutrition.

Scaling up therapeutic feeding as nutrition crisis deepens in Chad
MOUSSORO, Chad, 13 May 2010 – There was no question that 18-month-old Hissène needed treatment when he arrived at the nutrition centre in Moussoro, a dusty town in western Chad.

Severe food shortages in western Chad lead to rising malnutrition in children
MAO, Chad, 24 March 2010 – Adam Abdulai is just over a year old, but he can barely move, let alone stand up and walk. He and a dozen other emaciated children lie on mattresses at a feeding centre in Mao, western Chad, with their mothers and grandmothers watching over them helplessly.

Examples of 'positive deviance' in habits leading to malnutrition in West Bengal
DUMURDI, India, 11 January 2010 – Bharati Mandi walks to her local 'Angawadi' – a government sponsored centre for mothers and children in India – each day with her four-month-old son Biswajit and her three-year-old daughter Shampa. Together with other mothers, she prepares herself a healthy mid-day meal of lentils, rice and vegetables.

Rapid short message service speeds health data collection and feedback in Malawi
LILONGWE, Malawi, 05 January 2010 - The short message service (SMS) is proving to be a great ally in Malawi’s battle to contain malnutrition and improve the lives of the country’s children.

Community volunteers fight undernutrition in northern Cameroon
TCHONTCHI, Cameroon, 13 November 2009 – Almost 5 kilos underweight and too undernourished to walk, two-year-old twins Massing Esther and Tito Anna have to be carried everywhere they go in their home village of Tchontchi, in northern Cameroon.

Therapeutic feeding saves children’s lives in drought-stricken Ethiopia

ANJA JAFFA, Ethiopia, 13 November 2009 - Almaz Kare, 20, a mother of two, watches as her four-year-old daughter Masento finishes the sachet of ready-to-use-therapeutic food.

Mothers encouraged to breastfeed in aftermath of Philippines flooding
MANILA, Philippines, 12 November 2009 – Some seven weeks after Tropical Storm Ketsana – known locally as Ondoy – caused massive flooding in the Philippines, thousands remain homeless. Many of the displaced are families with young children, pregnant mothers and newborn babies.

'Tracking Progress': UNICEF report calls for urgent international action on nutrition
NEW YORK, USA, 11 November, 2009 – As the number of hungry and malnourished people passes 1 billion, a new UNICEF report identifies undernutrition as one of the major causes of death among young children.

Preventing bone disorders through better nutrition in Bangladesh
COX’S BAZAR, Bangladesh, 19 October 2009 – Five-year-old Jasmeen suffers from rickets – a preventable disorder caused by a form of malnutrition as a result of calcium deficiency which manifests as a softening of the bones. Her legs are severely deformed and bow the weight of her little body.

At Clinton Global Initiative, partners pledge new support for fighting zinc deficiency
NEW YORK, USA, 24 September 2009 – At the fifth Annual Meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) in New York, CGI hosted UNICEF and zinc industry partners today for the announcement of a unique effort aimed at eliminating zinc deficiency and improving food security in developing countries.

Mia Farrow highlights child malnutrition in Cameroon
BAZZAMA, Cameroon, 17 September 2009 – UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Mia Farrow has been witnessing a silent emergency in Cameroon during a weeklong trip here.

UN report finds crisis in Somalia at its worst in two decades
NEW YORK, USA, 26 August 2009 – A new report confirms a stark picture of the situation facing children and families in Somalia, where UNICEF has been stymied in its efforts to slow a surge in malnutrition in parts of the country most affected by escalating violence.

UNICEF teaches importance of exclusive breastfeeding in Afghanistan
KABUL, Afghanistan, 3 August 2009 – “I do not have enough milk to feed my baby,” Arzo, 20, replies when asked if she will continue to exclusively breastfeed her newborn child.

Failure of seasonal rains leads to hardship and malnutrition in Madagascar
ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar, 27 July 2009 – As world attention shifts towards environmental issues, the effects of climate change are being felt on the island nation of Madagascar.

In India’s Bihar State, economic crisis hits the poorest of the poor
BIHAR, India, 29 May 2009 – As the sun sinks into the horizon over the Kosi River in India's Bihar State, the scene is almost idyllic. Wooden ferries putter across the river as young boys wash buffalo and splash around in the shallows.

Ready-to-use therapeutic food helps save children’s lives in southern Ethiopia
BORICHA, Ethiopia, 28 May 2009 – Every week, mothers from the drought-affected villages of Ethiopia’s Boricha district bring their children to be weighed and measured at the Yirba Health Centre.

Food and fuel crises hit poorest families the hardest in Nepal
MUGU DISTRICT, Nepal, 18 May 2009 – Sitting in the smoke-blackened main room of her tiny house on a steep, parched hillside in Sawa Khola village, Nawa Dumchi Bikar is a worried woman.

International forum issues joint call for enhanced investment in micronutrients
NEW YORK, USA, 12 May 2009 – UNICEF is one of a wide range of development partners in the UN, academic, non-governmental and private sectors that today called on the world’s governments to invest more in life-saving vitamins and minerals to prevent illness, blindness and mental disorders that result from vitamin deficiencies.

Doubling efforts to address malnutrition among children in Madagascar
ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar, 24 April 2009 – Drought is recurrent in the south of Madagascar. The last harvest was severely compromised by the lack of rain, and consequently, so was the capacity of households to feed their children.

Kyrgyzstan enacts law on flour fortification to fight ‘hidden hunger’
BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan, 13 April 2009 – The Kyrgyz Republic recently became the 57th country in the world to approve legislation requiring flour fortification. Under the legislation, all flour producers in the country will have to fortify top-grade and first-grade flour with vitamins and minerals approved by authorized health agencies.

Ready-to-use food distribution campaign for vulnerable children in Somalia
BOSSASO AND BERBERA, Somalia, 16 March 2009 – At Buulo Mingis camp for the internally displaced people, located in Bossaso, in the north-east zone of Somalia, children and their caregivers have gathered to receive rations of Plumpy’doz, the latest generation of a ready-to-use food to prevent malnutrition among vulnerable children.

Help for displaced and malnourished children in Pakistan
PESHAWAR, Pakistan, 10 March 2009 – Ataullah cries as the nutritionist measures his upper arm. He weighs only 7.7 kilos, well under the recommended weight for a two-year-old boy. The nutritionist concludes that he is severely malnourished. His brother Matiullah, less than a year older, is moderately malnourished.

Republic of Congo launches 'roadmap' for flour fortification
POINTE NOIRE, Republic of Congo, 22 December 2008 – Congo has launched a 'roadmap' to reduce the prevalence of iron-deficiency anaemia among children and pregnant women by least 30 per cent by 2013. The goal is to be achieved through the fortification of wheat flour with iron and folate.

In DR Congo, community-based clinics lead the fight against child malnutrition
KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 14 October 2008 – The locality of Binza Meteo is one of the poorest in Kinshasa, the capital of DR Congo. The roads are in a bad shape, water and electricity are scarce and most people do not have a steady job.

As child deaths continue to decline, UNICEF calls for increased efforts
NEW YORK, USA, 12 September 2008 – Fewer children under the age of five are dying today than in past years, according to the latest data from UNICEF. Globally, the number of young children who died in 2007 dropped to 9.2 million, compared to 12.7 million deaths in 1990.

United Nations consultation examines human rights and the global food crisis
NEW YORK, USA, 29 August 2008 – By 2050, it is projected that the world’s population will top 9 billion. Meanwhile, pressure from the demand for more food is sending global food prices soaring.

Food interventions are crucial as Somalia faces ‘worst-case scenario’
BOSSASO, Somalia, 21 August 2008 – Malnutrition is the one of the biggest challenges facing Somali children today, and according to an upcoming UN report, it could be getting worse.

A Nigerian father shows his support for his wife’s breastfeeding
ABUJA, Nigeria, 12 August 2008 - He stuck out like a sore thumb amidst the more than three hundred women cradling their babies at the annual baby show.

Baby-friendly hospitals support exclusive breastfeeding in Tajikistan
Tajikistan, 7 August 2008 - Over the last decade, Tajikistan Breastfeeding Week has been made possible through the support provided by UNICEF and the Ministry of Health (MoH) of Tajikistan and its partners. This year, in an effort to increase support from other channels, World Breastfeeding Week is promoting the global theme of, ‘going for the gold by supporting mothers to breastfeed’.

Swazi citizens and royalty stand together to lend support for mothers who breastfeed
MANTAMBE, Swaziland, 6 August 2008 – Swaziland’s strongest citizens stood up for its most vulnerable ones for the launch of World Breastfeeding Week. Wife to the Swazi King, Inkhosikati LaMbikiza, kicked off the seven-day celebration designed to raise awareness on the benefits of exclusive breastfeeding and to encourage greater support for mothers who choose to breastfeed their children.

Executive Director announces $3 million for Mozambican children affected by global food price increases
MAPUTO, Mozambique, 1 August 2008 – UNICEF Executive Director Ann. M. Veneman, concluding a three-day visit to Mozambique, announced $3 million in additional support for UNICEF’s nutrition programmes in the country.

In Togo, food insecurity makes exclusive breastfeeding more of a challenge
ZOWLA, Togo, 1 August 2008 – In this village in the Maritime region of Togo, Véronique the tailor is well known. It is not for her dressmaking skills that she is respected, but for her work as head of the local breastfeeding support group.

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.