Babies who are breastfed are generally healthier and achieve optimal growth and development compared to those who are fed formula milk.
If the vast majority of babies were exclusively fed breastmilk in their
first six months of life – meaning only breastmilk and no other liquids or
solids, not even water – it is estimated that the lives of at least 1.2
million children would be saved every year. If children continue to be
breastfed up to two years and beyond, the health and development of millions
of children would be greatly improved.
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Diarrhoea is the second leading cause of death among children under five
globally. Nearly one in five child deaths – about 1.5 million each year – is
due to diarrhoea. It kills more young children than AIDS, malaria and
measles combined.
Today, only 39 per cent of children with diarrhoea in developing countries
receive the recommended treatment, and limited trend data suggest that there has been little progress since 2000.
The fight against persistent underweight, stunting and wasting among children in developing countries is based on appropriate maternal,
infant and young child feeding practices including micronutrient deficiencies prevention and control. However, wasted children are those
at immediate risk of dying and will need timely detection and correct management for their survival.
The orange ribbon is an awareness ribbon for malnutrition.
More than half of all child deaths are associated with malnutrition, which weakens the body's resistance to illness. Poor diet,
frequent illness, and inadequate or inattentive care of young children can lead to malnutrition.
If a woman is malnourished during pregnancy, or if her child is malnourished during the first two years of life, the child's physical
and mental growth and development may be slowed. This cannot be made up when the child is older – it will affect the child for the rest of his or her life.
Children have the right to a caring, protective environment and to nutritious food and basic health care to protect them from illness and promote growth and development.
Malnutrition is an abnormal physiological condition caused by deficiencies, excesses or imbalances in energy, protein and/or other
nutrients. Undernutrition is when the body contains lower than normal amounts of one or more nutrients i.e. deficiencies in macronutrients and/or
micronutrients. The most pervasive form of malnutrition to date in the poorest countries is undernutrition.
For the Whole Community
Healthy Nutrition Contains practical and easy-to-understand information about the principles of healthy nutrition.
Malnutrition Contains a simple explanation about malnutrition and an overview about the malnutrition situation in India and Maharashtra for the general public.
Nutrition in the Context of HIV/AIDS The HIV pandemic and the risk of mother to child transmission of HIV through breastfeeding pose unique challenges to promotion of breastfeeding. It is important to promote HIV Individual counselling and Testing among all pregnant and lactating women.
Practitioners and Program Managers
Protection, Promotion and Support of Healthy Maternal, Infant and Young Child Feeding This section looks at healthy nutrition from a programmatic point of view. It includes links with high impact nutrition interventions and an introduction on the ENA approach to support planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of high-impact nutrition interventions.
Early Detection and Referral of Children with Malnutrition
Looks at feasible ways to timely detect and refer children with malnutrition from primary health care units and communities. It
is intended to increase coverage through active case finding and referral of children with malnutrition at all contact points before the onset of life threatening complications.
Management of Child Malnutrition
Looks at the severely malnourished, with an in-patient outline based on WHO standards and updates from Professor Michael Golden and an out-patient outline based mainly on
the Community-based Therapeutic Care (CTC) Field Manual by the CTC Research and Development program (collaboration between Valid International and Concern Worldwide).
In 2008, the number of undernourished people in the world rose to 963 million (more than the combined populations of the United
States, Canada and the European Union), up 40 million from 2007.
Hunger does not affect just the individual. Economists estimate that every child whose physical and mental development is stunted
by hunger and malnutrition stands to lose 5 percent to 10 percent in lifetime earnings.
The total food surplus of the United States alone could satisfy every empty stomach in Africa; France's leftovers could feed the
hungry in Democratic Republic of Congo and Italy's could feed Ethiopia's undernourished.
Today 25,000 people will die from hunger. A child dies every six seconds of malnutrition or starvation.
There is enough food in the world today for everyone to have the nourishment necessary for a healthy and productive life.
The global rise in food prices has pushed an estimated 40 million more people into hunger this year, UN food agency says. There are now 963 million
hungry people, accounting for almost 15% of the world population. The financial crisis, could tip even more people into poverty and hunger, it warns.
By 2009-end, the ranks of the hungry is expected to swell to 1 billion people. Number of hungry rose by 110 million in past 6 years.
Chronic hunger is calculated by prevalence of child malnutrition in population, rates of child mortality and proportion of people who are calorie deficient.
There are an estimated 350 to 400 million children under 18 suffering from hunger in the world today.
WHO/UNICEF estimates 149 million children under five are underweight — a key indicator of undernutrition.
Between five and six million under-fives die each year from diseases which they could have survived if they were not undernourished.
73 percent of the world’s underweight under-fives live in just ten countries.
In the index, all Indian states are at 'serious' level of hunger. 12 states fall in 'alarming' category.
Madhya Pradesh is India's most malnourished state.
"We are guilty of many errors and many faults, but our worst crime is abandoning the children, neglecting the foundation of life.
Many of the things we need can wait. The child cannot. Right now is the time his bones are being formed, his blood is being made and
his senses are being developed.
To him we cannot answer "Tomorrow". His name is "Today"."
Gabriela Mistral, 1948
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