Malnutrition Is a Silent Emergency
Malnutrition plays a role in the majority of the deaths of children under five. Malnourished children are too weak to fight off illness, and they often become physically and mentally stunted. And malnutrition keeps children trapped in the cycle of poverty. UNICEF is there to make sure that all children get the proper nutrition they need to grow into healthy and productive adults.
We supply much-needed vitamins and nutrients to the world’s most severely malnourished children. In areas like Sudan, where the environment is hostile and poverty extreme, we distribute fortified foods like Plumpy'nut®, a high-protein, high-calorie peanut spread. We provide children with vitamin A to keep them from going blind, and we give folic acid to pregnant women.
By holding nutrition classes in local health centers, UNICEF supports mothers who are having difficulties properly nourishing their children. In hospitals and health centers all over the world, we help mothers breastfeed their newborn babies. 1.3 million babies still die every year because they are not properly breastfed.
We are also working to eliminate iodine deficiency, which can cause brain damage and physical impairment in children. With UNICEF’s help, a campaign was started in Bolivia to iodize table salt. The number of schoolchildren in Bolivia with iodine deficiency disorders was reduced from 60 percent a decade ago to almost none today.
Every child has the right to proper nutrition. Proper nutrition is needed to fight off disease and develop a healthy mind and body. When children are well nourished, they can attend school and become a productive member of society. UNICEF is committed to helping every child get the nutrition it needs for a healthy and promising future.
Related Links
October 29, 2008
Treating malnutrition as Zimbabwe grapples with raging inflation
Appreciate, age 2, lies in a bed at the Harare Central Hospital. At just under 22 pounds, he shows many signs of severe malnutrition: a swollen stomach, dry scaly skin and hollow, sunken eyes. Luckily, his mother, Revai, was quick to see the pending danger and took him to the hospital. He was immediately referred to their Therapeutic Feeding Center, where he was diagnosed as suffering from the syndrome known as kwashiorkor—characterized by skin and hair changes and edema.
October 18, 2008
In DR Congo, community-based clinics lead the fight against child malnutrition
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.
October 8, 2008
Model Mothers work to combat malnutrition in Mozambique
It is mid-morning in Ilha de Moçambique, a small island off the coast of Nampula Province. Anabela Muchuza, a nutrition technician, makes her rounds in the mother-and-child ward of the island's main health center. The giggles of a baby girl draw her attention to the back of the room.
