navy blue study 1-3

About 530,000 children younger than five and more than a million women need urgent nutritional support in the Democratic Republic of Congo, says the Ministry of Health. Officials are calling for more resources for prevention and treatment and for agricultural production to be improved.

"At least 700 children under-five die each day in the five provinces where only 20 percent of children have a varied diet," Victor Makwenge, the Minister of Health, said.

An estimated one million women aged 15-49 are malnourished in Equateur, Orientale, Occidental, Katanga and Maniema provinces, Makwenge added.

A 2009 study by the national nutrition programme in the provinces, which represent about half the national population, found global acute malnutrition rates above the 15 percent emergency threshold in children under five in some regions.

The rate was highest at 16 percent in Orientale and Occidental provinces, 15 in Equateur and 14 and 11 in Katanga and Maniema, respectively. The study was funded by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Food Programme (WFP).

In the Popokabaka territory of Bandundu Province at least 1,310 malnourished children have been registered at CARITAS Germany feeding centres. Of these, 982 are still malnourished and 12 have died, according to CARITAS.

Malnutrition remains a serious threat to the survival and development of children and women in the DRC, noted UNICEF’s representative in the country, Pierrette Vu Thi.

"Studies have shown that the risk of death is four times higher for moderately malnourished children... the risk is eight times higher for those with severe acute malnutrition than in healthy children," said Vu Thi.

Years of conflict and instability in the east and northeast, as well as a financial crisis affecting the mining sector in central and southeast DRC, had adversely affected an already precarious household nutrition situation.

Vu Thi noted that limited access to healthcare and potable water, poor hygiene and feeding habits and the lack of agricultural inputs as well as the practice of monoculture, were also to blame.

Early marriages and the low socio-economic status of women were contributory factors, she added.

According to recent assessments, WFP said, 75 percent of the country is food insecure. Only the Kivu provinces have lower levels of malnutrition due to a large aid agency presence.
...


About 530,000 children younger than five and more than a million women need urgent nutritional support in the Democratic Republic of Congo, says the Ministry of Health. Officials are calling for more resources for prevention and treatment and for agricultural production to be improved. "At least 700 children under-five die each day in the five provinces where only 20 percent of children have a varied diet," Victor Makwenge, the Minister of Health, said. An estimated one million women aged 15-49 are malnourished in Equateur, Orientale, Occidental, Katanga and Maniema provinces, Makwenge added. A 2009 study by the national nutrition programme in the provinces, which represent about half the national population, found global acute malnutrition rates above the 15 percent emergency threshold in children under five in some regions. The rate was highest at 16 percent in Orientale and Occidental provinces, 15 in Equateur and 14 and 11 in Katanga and Maniema, respectively. The study was funded by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Food Programme (WFP). In the Popokabaka territory of Bandundu Province at least 1,310 malnourished children have been registered at CARITAS Germany feeding centres. Of these, 982 are still malnourished and 12 have died, according to CARITAS. Malnutrition remains a serious threat to the survival and development of children and women in the DRC, noted UNICEF’s representative in the country, Pierrette Vu Thi. "Studies have shown that the risk of death is four times higher for moderately malnourished children... the risk is eight times higher for those with severe acute malnutrition than in healthy children," said Vu Thi. Years of conflict and instability in the east and northeast, as well as a financial crisis affecting the mining sector in central and southeast DRC, had adversely affected an already precarious household nutrition situation. Vu Thi noted that limited access to healthcare and potable water, poor hygiene and feeding habits and the lack of agricultural inputs as well as the practice of monoculture, were also to blame. Early marriages and the low socio-economic status of women were contributory factors, she added. According to recent assessments, WFP said, 75 percent of the country is food insecure. Only the Kivu provinces have lower levels of malnutrition due to a large aid agency presence. ... (Source: WFP Press Release on April 9th, 2010). http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=88760

WFP today warned that millions of people in the Horn of Africa are once again facing a deadly mix of persistent drought, poor seasonal rains, conflict, and the cost of food which remains high in many developing countries. In addition, the impact of the global financial crisis is threatening to exacerbate levels of hunger and desperation across the region. “We are knocking on the door of a major regional crisis,” said Ramiro Lopes da Silva, WFP’s Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa. “The situation is not getting better – if anything, we’re seeing it get worse. We must all redouble our efforts to protect and assist the weakest.” WFP is currently providing food assistance to 17 million people in the Horn of Africa region. But funding for many of its operations is low at a time when the numbers of hungry people in Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia, northern Uganda and Djibouti are expected to rise in the coming months. Humanitarian assistance is vital for people who are struggling to survive as they sell off assets in a bid to survive the successive years of drought and conflict, combined with the high price of food on local markets. “Millions of people across the region are seeing their lives spiral steadily downwards as this frightening confluence of factors - all beyond their control - pushes them closer to destitution,” said Lopes da Silva. (Source: WFP Press Release on June 9th, 2009) http://www.wfp.org/news/news-release/horn-africa-facing-another-year-hunger-millions-battle-survival



The number of people in southern Sudan in need of food assistance has more than quadrupled from almost 1 million in 2009 to 4.3 million this year because of conflict and drought, UN food agencies and Southern Sudan’s Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry said today. “This spike in the number of hungry people in southern Sudan comes just ahead of the rainy season when roads become blocked and communities are cut off from food assistance,” said Leo van der Velden, WFP Sudan Coordinator in the south, adding that WFP is pre-positioning 50,000 metric tons of sorghum, pulses and vegetable oil to feed the millions who may be cut off when the rains start. WFP plans to assist the hungry for between two and eight months in 2010, depending on how heavy the rainy season is, and the extent of food around in local markets. The aim is to ensure that families have access to sufficient food before the next harvest is due in October and November. WFP will also support school meal programmes for more than 400,000 schoolchildren and provide food for tens of thousands of conflict-affected families, returnees and refugees. Southern Sudan Agriculture and Forestry Minister Dr. Samson Kwaje said Jonglei State has the highest number in need of food assistance. “Internal conflict and incursions from the Lord’s Resistance Army together with drought have made almost half the population of the South short of food,” he said. The increasing needs of people living in southern Sudan are highlighted in an annual assessment, carried out in November last year by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, the South Sudan Relief and Rehabilitation Commission and the South Sudan Commission for Census, Statistics and Evaluation, in cooperation with WFP and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. ... Conflict in 2009 killed 2,500 people and displaced 350,000 people from their homes in southern Sudan while drought slashed harvests so WFP started shifting from recovery and rebuilding to a more emergency-focused response from June 2009. ... (Source: WFP Press Release on February 2nd, 2010) http://www.wfp.org/news/news-release/number-hungry-quadruples-southern-sudan-amidst-conflict-and-drought


Children in Sudan

2005 (c) WFP/Antonia Paradela
http://www.wfp.or.jp/gallery/photo_gallery.php?id=list441afc887cc07&detail=detail441b01cb0311a


Twelve weeks after Cyclone Nargis devastated the Ayeyarwady Delta region of Myanmar, hundreds of thousands of families still have a lengthy storm to weather, WFP said. “The situation in Myanmar remains dire,” said Chris Kaye, WFP’s Country Director for Myanmar. “The vast majority of families simply don’t have enough to eat.” ASEAN report The findings of a joint Government, ASEAN and UN report, released earlier this week, substantiate WFP’s concerns and earlier fears of a drastic reduction in household food stocks after the cyclone struck Myanmar’s southern coast on 2 May 2008. The comprehensive assessment confirmed that more than 40 percent of households lost all food stocks during the storm, which washed away entire villages and inundated farmlands with seawater. Additional key findings reveal that 34 percent of households reported having no food stocks on the day of the survey, and a further 45 percent reported having enough to last only 1-7 days. In addition, 89 percent of households reported that food was their highest priority expenditure. Hunger is a real threat “Hunger remains a very real threat, and if people are hungry, they can’t focus on rebuilding their livelihoods,” said Kaye. In response to the assessment’s results, WFP recently scaled up its emergency feeding programmes for 924,000 beneficiaries, which will last until next April. The US$112 million operation is facing a 52 percent shortfall, although Kaye welcomed recent contributions from the United Kingdom and Australia which will help to ensure that food supplies continue to reach the hungry. ... (Source: WFP Press Release on July 25th, 2008) http://www.wfp.org/content/food-myanmars-cyclone-victims-still-top-priority
Children in Myanmar


2008 (c) WFP/Eddie Gerald
http://www.wfp.or.jp/gallery/photo_gallery.php?id=list48b2408550ed2&detail=detail48b2444f3c61b