Search NaijaAgroNet

Showing posts with label malnourished. Show all posts
Showing posts with label malnourished. Show all posts

Thursday, December 7, 2017

Over 14m adults malnourished, on the rise



Over 14.3 million women and men in the countries of Europe and Central Asia region are still malnourished according to the Food andAgriculture Organisation (FAO) latest study, reports NaijaAgroNet.

FAO said, the State of Food Security and Nutrition in Europeand Central Asia 2017, analyzes a range of food security and nutrition indicators to assess the countries’ progress towards achieving Sustainable Development Goal 2 (End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture) by 2030. It appraises dietary energy supply, nutrition indicators such as stunting and wasting, anaemia, overweight and obesity, as well changing diets and their impact on different population groups.

After tremendous progress in recent years, the situation in the region now appears to be stagnant. The prevalence of undernourishment remained almost unchanged in the Caucasus and Central Asia according to the report which was presented at a Regional Symposium on Sustainable Food Systems for Healthy Diets.

“Poverty remains the single, most important obstacle to food security,” said Vladimir Rakhmanin, FAO Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative for Europe and Central Asia. “But there is a clear path forward. The Sustainable Development Goals, or SDGs, provide a powerful framework for tackling the challenges faced by the countries of Europe and Central Asia.”

To better appraise the drivers and features of food insecurity in the region, FAO’s report includes the new Food InsecurityExperience Scale (FIES), which serves to complement the analysis of progress against Sustainable Development Goal 2 (SDG2) indicators on food security and nutrition. Providing more timely and comprehensive analysis, the new methodology shows that 14.3 million adults in the region suffered from severe food insecurity during the period 2014-16.

Yet, to fully assess the situation the nutrition data collected by the World Health Organization (WHO) is key, the report noted. Malnutrition in one or more of its three main forms – undernutrition, overnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies – is present to varying degrees in all countries of the region, the report states.


“Often all three coexist, in what is called the ’triple burden’ of malnutrition,” said FAO senior policy officer Ariella Glinni, principal author of the report. “It is not unusual for countries to experience high rates of both child undernutrition and obesity. Micronutrient deficiencies and overnutrition in children, women and men have become two major food security and nutrition concerns across the region.”

Isaac Oyimah/GEE

... Linking agrobiz, sustainable environs, people & technology

Tuesday, February 21, 2017

Above 1m children acutely malnourished in South Sudan

Over 1 million children are estimated to be acutely malnourished in South Sudan, reports NaijaAgroNet, according to the UNICEF Representative in South Sudan, Jeremy Hopkins.

In addition, Hopkins disclosed that over a quarter of a million children are already severely malnourished.

“If we do not reach these children with urgent aid many of them will die. We urge all parties to allow humanitarian organizations unrestricted access to the affected populations, so we can assist the most vulnerable and prevent yet another humanitarian catastrophe," he said.

NaijaAgroNet gathered that this is coming as the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) recent report estimated that 14 of the 23 assessed counties have global acute malnutrition (GAM) at or above the emergency threshold of 15 per cent, with some areas as high as 42 per cent.  

For the World Food Programme (WFP) Country Director, Joyce Luma, this Sudan situation is a man-made crisis.

"This famine is man-made. WFP and the entire humanitarian community have been trying with all our might to avoid this catastrophe, mounting a humanitarian response of a scale that quite frankly would have seemed impossible three years ago. But we have also warned that there is only so much that humanitarian assistance can achieve in the absence of meaningful peace and security, both for relief workers and the crisis-affected people they serve," she said, insisting "We will continue doing everything we possibly can to hold off and reverse the spread of famine."

Across the country, she noted, three years of conflict have severely undermined crop production and rural livelihoods.


“The upsurge in violence since July 2016 has further devastated food production, including in previously stable areas. Soaring inflation - up to 800 percent year-on-year - and market failure have also hit areas that traditionally rely on markets to meet food needs. Urban populations are also struggling to cope with massive price rises on basic food items,” she said.

Isaac Oyimah/GEE
... Linking agrobiz, sustainable environs, people & technology

Saturday, June 18, 2016

18% of Anambra children under 5 malnourished - NGO

The Anambra State chapter of the Nigerian Civil Society Scale-up Nutrition, a Non-Government Organisation (NGO), has alleged that 18 per cent of children in the state under the age of five suffer from malnutrition-based stunted growth, reports NaijaAgroNet.

The Local Working Group Coordinator for the NGO, Dr. Moses Ohamaeme, told newsmen at the state capital, Awka at the weekend that a survey conducted in the South east region by the organisation showed that Anambra State is worst hit in child malnutrition.

NaijaAgroNet also reports that Ohamaeme pointed out that malnutrition is severe among children with low milk consumption as well as those whose mothers had limited knowledge of its impact, stressing that malnourished babies have a higher risk of dying at infancy and are more likely to face life-long cognitive challenges capable of leading to poor school performance and chronic health problems.

He equally said that malnutrition in children usually manifest in form of wasting which Ohamaeme described as low weight for height, stunting as low height for age and underweight as low weight for age.

Lamenting this situation in a state like Anambra, reputed for abundant human and material resources, Dr. Ohamaeme emphasized that malnutrition and its related diseases are still an issue in public health in Anambra State. The state also has the lowest median of Exclusive Breast Feeding (EBF) in the zone.

“Even though EBF in the first six months is proven to be effective in preventing children from malnutrition, the practice is still very low in Anambra State,” he said.

The Group Coordinator in Anambra State, further urged the state government to create nutritional budget lines in the state ministries of health, primary health care development agency, education, economic planning, and agriculture.

In addition, the NGO said, local governments and the state House of Assembly should as matter of urgency similarly make certain the inclusiveness of funding for maternal child and adolescent nutrition centre among others.

NaijaAgroNet recalls that on 14 November 2011, the Federal Republic of Nigeria joined the global Scale-Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement with a letter of commitment from then Minister of Health, Dr. Onyebuchi Chukwu.


Noteworthy is that then, Nigeria recognised the role of nutrition as a development issue and had committed to addressing malnutrition with the adoption of a National Health Strategic Development Plan which recognises nutrition as an important component.

Emeka Ozo/GEE

... Linking agrobiz, sustainable environs, people & technology