Malnutrition News and Research

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Malnutrition is a condition which occurs when there is a deficiency of certain vital nutrients in a person’s diet. The deficiency fails to meet the demands of the body leading to effects on the growth, physical health, mood, behaviour and other functions of the body. Malnutrition commonly affects children and the elderly.

E-voucher program providing food to malnourished Zimbabweans living with HIV, TB

An electronic voucher system, introduced by the World Food Programme (WFP) and implemented by the health ministry and non-governmental organizations, is helping Zimbabweans living with HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis (TB) and their families obtain food and fight malnutrition, PlusNews reports.

22 Oct 2011

Emergency humanitarian response in Horn of Africa must shift to community development

Though emergency humanitarian assistance has helped keep people alive in the Horn of Africa, "this effort is not sustainable," David Morley, president and CEO of UNICEF Canada, writes in a Globe and Mail opinion piece.

20 Oct 2011

Climate change could be detrimental to global health, conference attendees say

Environmental health experts, scientists and government officials attending a conference in London sponsored by the British Medical Journal on Monday "issued a statement warning that climate change could not only bring a global health catastrophe but could threaten global stability and security as well, a journal release said," UPI.com reports.

19 Oct 2011

FDA clears Cook Medical's Evolution Duodenal Controlled-Release Stent

Cook Medical announced today that its Evolution Duodenal Controlled-Release Stent was recently granted 510(k) clearance by the Food & Drug Administration.

18 Oct 2011

WHO to offer new guidelines for food aid, recommends 'tighter nutritional standards'

The WHO said Thursday that "it plans to recommend tighter nutritional standards in food aid for young children, a move activists say is necessary to improve donations from countries such as the United States," the Associated Press/Washington Post reports.

15 Oct 2011

India faces nutrition crisis despite growing prosperity

India's Hindustan Times reports on "a striking contrast between rising economic prosperity and stagnating rates of malnutrition" in Mumbai, where "80,000 children ... are malnourished, according to government data, a statistic that makes Mumbai the most malnourished city in India."

14 Oct 2011

Haiti uses 'peanut butter medicine' to battle malnutrition

CNN/Global Health Frontline News examines how "ready-to-use therapeutic foods" are being used in Haiti to help children with severe malnutrition. U.S. nonprofit organization Meds and Food for Kids makes "Medika Mamba, which means 'peanut butter medicine' in Creole. It's a ready-to-eat paste packed with nutritious ingredients that -- over a period of weeks -- gives a jolt to the system and puts children back on track," the news agency writes.

13 Oct 2011

Guardian photo gallery shows North Korea's food crisis in pictures

The Guardian published a gallery of photographs taken in North Korea by Damir Sagolj, after "a harsh winter and widespread flooding have exacerbated the food shortage in the country, leaving millions of people on a knife edge."

13 Oct 2011

Food crises jeopardizing efforts to meet MDG of halving global malnutrition, report says

"Food crises are jeopardizing efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of halving the proportion of people who suffer from hunger by 2015, United Nations (U.N.) food experts warned" on Monday, according to the Guardian.

11 Oct 2011

WHO facing shortage of funds as it works to scale up humanitarian response to Pakistan flooding

WHO representative Guido Sabatinelli has assured Pakistan health officials that the organization "will be scaling up its humanitarian response in all the flood-affected areas of Sindh to resolve health issues faced by the displaced people," News International reports.

11 Oct 2011

AlertNet footage shows scenes of food shortages in North Korea, says appeals for aid go unanswered

"Footage of malnourished North Korean orphans and official warnings over failed harvests have given a rare glimpse at the scale of devastating food shortages in the country following a harsh winter and widespread flooding," the Guardian reports.

7 Oct 2011

USAID, NGO partners testing nutritional impact assessment tool

USAID is working with non-governmental organization partners to test a "nutritional impact assessment tool" that "'would be a way for organizations designing or reviewing agricultural programs to mitigate any risks or potential negative effects on nutrition -- in other words a "do no harm" approach,' said Michael Zeilinger, head of the nutrition division with USAID's office of health, infectious disease and nutrition," IRIN reports.

28 Sep 2011

Peru hopes to continue fight against child malnutrition under new government

Despite a seven percent annual growth rate over the past five years and a prediction from former President Alan Garcia that Peru will meet the millennium development goals (MDGs), "chronic infant malnutrition has been difficult to stamp out, particularly in rural areas," the Guardian's "Poverty Matters Blog" reports.

28 Sep 2011

PRI's 'The World' interviews member of delegation that investigated hunger in North Korea

PRI's "The World" recently spoke with Matt Ellingson, director of Program Development at Samaritan's Purse, an international Christian relief organization, who was part of a mission to North Korea this month during which five U.S.-based, non-governmental organizations were allowed to send observers to the country to monitor delivery of aid to areas affected by severe floods this past summer. The group "came away concerned about widespread malnutrition and starvation in North Korea" and "is now calling for an urgent humanitarian intervention," "The World" reports.

28 Sep 2011

Gender discrimination a driving factor behind malnutrition in Nepal, experts say

"Gender discrimination lies behind much of the malnutrition found in under-five children in Nepal, say locals and experts," IRIN reports. "Women live hard lives from day one, born with no fanfare, contrasting starkly to the six-day celebration to mark the birth of a boy.

23 Sep 2011

Annual World Disasters Report focuses on hunger and malnutrition, highlights dichotomy between economic classes

This year's annual World Disasters Report, published by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies on Thursday, focuses on hunger and malnutrition, but highlights a growing gap between economic classes, the Australian reports, noting "15 percent of the world's population is going hungry while a record 20 percent now suffer the effects of 'excess nutrition'" (Hodge, 9/23).

23 Sep 2011

IFRC releases 2011 World Disaster Report

The world's most vulnerable populations remain at significant risk to the effects of food shortages and malnutrition according to the 2011 World Disaster Report (WDR) released today by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

23 Sep 2011

PepsiCo, WFP, USAID announce partnership to increase chickpea production, address hunger in Ethiopia

PepsiCo on Wednesday announced a public-private partnership with the World Food Programme (WFP) and USAID to increase chickpea production in Ethiopia in order to secure access to the legume, which "plays an increasing role in its food products," the New York Times reports.

23 Sep 2011

Addressing the exclusion of mental health from the MDGs

PRI's "The World" highlights the state of mental health care in Uganda in an examination of how the exclusion of mental health from the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) has, according to some advocates, held back mental health as a global health issue. Julius Kayiira, director of Mental Health Uganda, an organization that provides social support, job training and care to people with mental illness, "says organizations like his face an enormous funding gap, and he blames that gap, in part, on the United Nations," according to "The World."

22 Sep 2011

NC researchers proposes health-based approach to identify groups at high risk of genocide

Researchers from North Carolina State University are proposing a health-based approach to identifying groups at high risk of genocide, in a first-of-its-kind attempt to target international efforts to stop these mass killings before they start.

20 Sep 2011

Malnutrition News and Research

Further Reading

E-voucher program providing food to malnourished Zimbabweans living with HIV, TB

Emergency humanitarian response in Horn of Africa must shift to community development

Climate change could be detrimental to global health, conference attendees say

FDA clears Cook Medical's Evolution Duodenal Controlled-Release Stent

WHO to offer new guidelines for food aid, recommends 'tighter nutritional standards'

India faces nutrition crisis despite growing prosperity

Haiti uses 'peanut butter medicine' to battle malnutrition

Guardian photo gallery shows North Korea's food crisis in pictures

Food crises jeopardizing efforts to meet MDG of halving global malnutrition, report says

WHO facing shortage of funds as it works to scale up humanitarian response to Pakistan flooding

AlertNet footage shows scenes of food shortages in North Korea, says appeals for aid go unanswered

USAID, NGO partners testing nutritional impact assessment tool

Peru hopes to continue fight against child malnutrition under new government

PRI's 'The World' interviews member of delegation that investigated hunger in North Korea

Gender discrimination a driving factor behind malnutrition in Nepal, experts say

Annual World Disasters Report focuses on hunger and malnutrition, highlights dichotomy between economic classes

IFRC releases 2011 World Disaster Report

PepsiCo, WFP, USAID announce partnership to increase chickpea production, address hunger in Ethiopia

Addressing the exclusion of mental health from the MDGs

NC researchers proposes health-based approach to identify groups at high risk of genocide

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

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