MALNUTRITION: Fortified flour distribution starts in Karnali, Nepal

 2011-01-16 KATHMANDU: The Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP) has started distributing fortified flour to children below two years of age in the Karnali region to combat malnutrition.
The move comes at a time when prevalence of malnutrition has been adversely affecting government efforts to bring down the child mortality rate.
The government started distributing the flour two months ago as per the provision made in last year’s as well as this year’s budget to target food-deficit regions.
Karnali is one of the most food-deficit areas in the country. Raj Kumar Pokharel, head of the Nutrition Section at the Child Health Division under the Ministry of Health and Population, said the government is distributing the flour in five districts of the region.
According to the programme, 1.5 kg of fortified flour each is to be provided to children between the age of 6 to 11 months and 2.5 kg each to children between one and two years of age.
The government has allocated Rs 30 million for the programme in the current fiscal year. Last year, it had only allocated Rs 10 million.
According to the National Health Demographic Survey 2006, 49 per cent of Nepali children are underweight and short and 39 per cent are underweight for their age.
Most of the malnourished children are from the mid-and far-western regions. The present reduction rate of malnutrition is 0.6 per cent per year. A report prepared by the Food Security Monitoring Task Force-2010 mentioned prevalence of underweight children was the maximum in the hills of far and mid-west and central regions.
Figures for central and far-western Tarai show 20 per cent of the children are wasting away. Humla has the highest prevalence of stunted growth where 72 per cent children are estimated to be short for their age.
Although the government is oblivious about the exact number of malnourished children in the Karnali region, it is convinced that the region has the most malnourished children in the country, added the chief.
Lack of awareness on food habits and personal hygiene are the main reasons behind the malnourishment

http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/fullNews.php?headline=Fortified+flour+distribution+starts+in+Karnali&NewsID=273279