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
January 6, 2010
RapidSMS technology helps fight malnutrition in Malawi
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. UNICEF—in collaboration with Columbia University - has been supporting the Government of Malawi in piloting the use of RapidSMS for nutrition surveillance on three different sites—in Dedza, Salima and Kasungu districts.
December 11, 2009
UNICEF fights malnutrition for children in Somalia
Almost half of the total population in Somalia is in need of humanitarian assistance, with hundreds of thousands of children acutely undernourished. Chronic undernutrition is a life-threatening condition if appropriate nutritional interventions are not provided. At the clinic in Hargeisa – one of 200 UNICEF-supported facilities – severely undernourished children receive lifesaving treatment in the form of Plumpy'nut, a special therapeutic food.
December 9, 2009
UNICEF fights chronic undernutrition of children in Yemen
In Yemen, where more than half of all children show signs of stunting—a consequence of chronic nutritional deprivation—UNICEF is working to address the serious problems facing many children displaced by ongoing conflict in the northern part of the country. Displaced Yemeni children also face other potentially life-threatening health challenges, as well as lack of access to education.
