Next Briefing: 41. “Improving nutrition through accountability, ownership and partnerships”

Webstreaming :  live recording of the Briefing on the day.

The Brussels Development Briefing n.41 on the subject of “Improving nutrition through accountability, ownership and partnerships” will be held in Brussels at 09h00-13h00 (proceded by lunch 13h00-14h00) on 20th May 2015 at the ACP Secretariat (451 Avenue Georges Henri, 1200 Bruxelles, Room C).

Malnutrition and undernutrition : a burden for many ACP countries

Malnutrition affects one in two people on the planet. Of these, 162 million children under the age of five are estimated to be stunted (i.e. low height for age). Two billion people are estimated to be deficient in one or more micronutrients. Nearly 1.5 billion people are estimated to be overweight and over 500 million to be obese. These conditions all have severe consequences for survival, for morbidity, and for the ability of individuals, the economy and society to thrive. In relation to the scale that these problems imply, the allocation of public resources to their prevention and amelioration is minuscule. Resources to specific nutrition programmes amount to a small fraction of one per cent of domestic or aid budgets.

Undernutrition in early life can have devastating and life-long consequences for physical growth as well as cognitive and social development. Undernutrition remains one of the major challenges in low-income countries. The consequences of undernutrition in early childhood are especially devastating and can lead to lifelong physical and mental impairments. In May 2012, health leaders worldwide adopted the Maternal, Infant and Young Child Nutrition Plan at the 65th World Health Assembly (WHA). This includes committing to reduce the number of stunted children in the world by 40 per cent by 2025. Under existing assump­tions, projections from the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF show that the world is not on track to meet any of the six WHA nutrition targets. Globally, little progress is being made in decreasing rates for anemia, low birth weight, wasting in children under age five, and over­weight in children under age five. Progress in increasing exclusive breastfeeding rates has been similarly lackluster. More progress has been made in reducing stunting rates in children under five, but not enough to meet the global target under current projections.

Malnutrition is either directly or indirectly responsible for approximately half of all deaths worldwide.Poor nutrition and calorie deficiencies cause nearly one in three people to die prematurely or have disabilities (WHO). Each year about 10.9 million children younger than age five in developing countries die, and 60 percent of these deaths result from malnutrition and hunger-related diseases (WFP 2010). Moreover, millions of people suffer from serious vitamin and mineral deficiencies. Hunger and malnutrition have effects that last throughout the life cycle, with poorly nourished children growing up to be less healthy and productive than they could be. Girls who do not get the nutrition they need become undernourished women who then give birth to the next generation of undernourished children.

Background note and programme: https://brusselsbriefings.files.wordpress.com/2015/04/bb41_nutrition-pr…

For more information: http://brusselsbriefings.net/2015/04/30/41-improving-nutrition-through-…

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