MALNUTRITION: Sudan land and oil dispute

William Lambers: Jun 13, 2011

The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, is urging North and South Sudan to end the violence between them and build a lasting peace. Renewed fighting between the two sides, ahead of South Sudan's new Independence Day on July 9th, is raising fears of another civil war. The two sides fought a two-decade-long war which ended in 2005 with a Comprehensive Peace Agreement.

In a statement released Saturday, the Secretary-General said he is "alarmed at the deterioration of the security situation and escalation of fighting in Southern Kordofan, which has left thousands homeless...and the situation in Abyei and the fate of those affected by the conflict in the area." On Sunday there was late word of a possible agreement for all military forces to be removed from Abyei.
The latest outbreak of violence in Sudan has brought hunger and large-scale displacement. The UN World Food Programme (WFP) is distributing food to conflict victims. In the Abyei Region, WFP says it has reached 91,717 displaced persons with rations. Almost 2,000 children have received plumpydoz, a special food to prevent dangerous malnutrition in children under five years of age.
Abyei is a disputed, oil-rich territory that sits right between North And South Sudan. The area was supposed to vote on whether to join the North or the South, but this never took place.


Following the seizure of Abyei by northern Sudanese troops on 20 May, armed elements have been burning buildings and looting in the town, actions that have been strongly condemned by the UN. Photo: UNMIS/ Stuart Price.
By 1 June, about 40,000 people displaced from Abyei after the town's takeover by Sudan Armed Forces had been registered in the Abyei area, Unity State and the greater Bahr El-Ghazal region and were receiving humanitarian assistance. Photo: UNMIS/Issac Gideon.

The Abyei region also happens to have a high rate of child malnutrition. UNICEF says, "Even in normal times, this is a population with few resources to draw on. For example, health surveys conducted prior to the crisis revealed high levels of malnutrition among young children, a situation that is now certain to be aggravated."
In South Kordofan WFP has distributed food to "4,000 displaced people in Kadugli and 3,000 in Heiban in collaboration with Humanitarian Aid Commission (HAC), Sudanese Red Crescent (SRC) and the local NGO Mubadiroon." More distributions are either under way or about to take place.

The scope of the crisis in South Kordofan may be much larger. WFP says, "The number of IDPs is reportedly increasing with up to 60,000 people estimated to be displaced so far."
It is critical for the supply chain of humanitarian aid to keep moving. Catholic Relief Services (CRS), which is also providing aid in Abyei, is emphasizing this as part of its peace-building activities in Sudan.
Luc Picard, CRS Church Partner Development Adviser in southern Sudan, says "Peacebuilding in the aftermath of any conflict will be imperative. The demand on basic services placed on the region by host communities, returnees and the displaced and the subsequent struggle for survival in the face of limited resources could easily create a series of conflicts within the community."
The needs are tremendous. Andy Schaefer of CRS described his visit to Agok where many from Abyei have fled. Schaefer writes, "As we drove we passed blossoming trees, cattle, goats, and sometimes people walking along the road and carrying whatever belongings they could salvage. Some carried mattresses while others escaped only with the clothes they had on their backs. The closer we got to Agok, on the second leg of our trip, the more people we saw on the roads. Makeshift camps covered the town. Every available space was filled with people."
CRS was planning an agricultural support program before the latest round of violence in Abyei. Once the violence ends, the area can restart the daunting task of building the food security it needs for true peace.


 http://blogcritics.org/culture/article/conflict-hunger-and-malnutrition-in-sudan/#ixzz1QVD6W96u

MALNUTRITION: London, Yemen, and Plumpy'nut

William Lambers : Feb 16, 2011
London has hosted many important conferences over the years. Herbert Hoover received an invitation to one of them almost immediately after arriving in Britain in April 1946. His invitation was to an emergency conference on European food supplies in the aftermath of World War II.
Hoover, then serving as the U.S. food ambassador, made a speech at the conference. He urged action, particularly child feeding for the war-torn countries. Hoover said, "The rehabilitation of children cannot wait. It cannot be postponed until some other day. They are not like a bridge or a factory. They lose ground every day that is lost."
Infant children, without proper nutrition in the first 1,000 days, can suffer lasting physical and mental damage. That is a key theme of an upcoming conference in London which will focus on malnutrition in Yemen.
Yemen is often in the headlines because of the terrorist elements that plague their society and threaten the United States. More recently, Yemen has also been in the news because of protests by the citizenry against their government.
Less often, though, do you hear of the terrible malnutrition that afflicts the population, with its greatest impact on infants. The UN World Food Programme says that "half of Yemen's children are chronically malnourished."
The Yemen malnutrition conference will analyze the crisis at hand, what is being done, and the way forward to ending malnutrition in Yemen. It is problem-solving for the greatest of all threats to Yemeni society: hunger and malnutrition.
ABC News recently presented a special highlighting the miracle food plumpy'nut and how it can save children from dangerous levels of malnutrition. Well, plumpy is something Yemen is in dire need of, and it would not cost very much, relatively speaking, for them to get it.
UNICEF and the UN World Food Programme (WFP), with enough funding, could treat severely and moderately malnourished Yemeni children. Dr. Wisam Al-timimi of UNICEF said late last year that "about $31 million will be needed to address both moderate and severe malnutrition country-wide."
WFP needs about $23 million for its plumpy plan to feed small children. Georgia Warner of WFP says, "270,000 children (6-59 months) would receive targeted supplementary feeding (supplementary plumpy) and 412,000 children (6-24 months) would receive blanket supplementary feeding (plumpy'doz)." This is part of an overall WFP operation aimed at increasing food security amidst high food prices, feeding displaced war victims, and rehabilitating agriculture.

Getting these supplies is the first step, but then you have to also look toward long-term solutions. Minds have to meet, but cooperation between the Yemeni government and the international community must also be forged. There must be political will. With that will come some much-needed funding.
When Hoover spoke in London in 1946, there was a threat of millions of Europeans facing starvation. Food supplies were mustered and a European reconstruction program, the Marshall Plan, started in 1948. The organization UNICEF was formed during this time period. Child feeding and rehabilitation became a top priority.
The Yemen malnutrition conference is being hosted by UNICEF and the Yemen Forum on February 22nd at the Chatham House in London.
 http://blogcritics.org/culture/article/london-yemen-and-plumpynut/page-2/#ixzz1EcqtKIIC

MALNUTRITION: SAHEL: Peanut pastes and milk powders to save children

20 August 2010 (IRIN) - Aid agencies in Niger and Chad have begun giving tens of thousands of malnourished children a product called Plumpy'doz to save them from sliding into often-fatal severe malnutrition. The highly nutritious ready-to-eat Plumpy'nut, to treat severe acute malnutrition, has been widely used since its first widespread application in Darfur in 2003. Today several African countries including Niger are producing Plumpy'nut locally. Meanwhile Plumpy'doz and other products for moderate acute malnutrition (MAM) are being studied for their efficacy and cost-effectiveness. http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=90242In Chad the monthly distribution of Plumpy'doz from July to October (the lean season) marks the first-ever use of the product there, and the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) is closely monitoring the intervention for future planning. Supplementary Plumpy is among other therapeutic foods being studied in a UNICEF project in Mali, aimed at filling what many nutrition experts call a troubling gap, in which there is little scientific evidence of the effect of various products on MAM, despite it being a major cause of morbidity and mortality among children worldwide. UNICEF estimates that of the 6.5 million acutely malnourished children in West and Central Africa, five million have moderate acute malnutrition. From UNICEF-Niger, here is a rundown of products aid agencies are using to stem the Sahel nutrition crisis: Plumpy'nut Therapeutic food with high nutritional value for children aged one to five. A high-protein, high-energy peanut-based paste, designed to appeal to children. It does not need to be refrigerated and has a shelf-life of two years, making it easy to deploy for treating severe malnutrition. Treatment takes six to seven weeks. It contains vitamins A, B-complex, C, D, E and K, with the necessary minerals calcium, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, zinc, copper, iron, iodine, sodium and selenium. Used as an alternative to therapeutic milk F100 (see below) for treating severe malnourishment, or for children without medical complications who are outpatients. Plumpy'dozAdministered to prevent malnutrition in children aged six to 23 months. A ready-to-use paste of vegetable fat, peanut butter, sugar, milk and nutrients. It has a longer shelf-life than previous diet supplements. Three teaspoons of Plumpy'doz three times a day provides a child with additional energy, including fats, high-quality proteins and essential minerals and vitamins required for growth and a healthy immune system. Malnutrition termsGlobal acute malnutrition, or "wasting", is defined as low weight for height or the presence of oedema. It can be moderate (MAM) or severe (SAM). It occurs as a result of recent rapid weight loss, malnutrition, or a failure to gain weight within a relatively short period of time. Wasting occurs more commonly in infants and younger children. Recovery from wasting is relatively quick once optimal feeding, health and care are restored. Wasting occurs as a result of deficiencies in both macronutrients (fat, carbohydrate and protein) and some micronutrients (vitamins and minerals). Chronic malnutrition, commonly referred to as "stunting", is a failure to grow in stature, which occurs as a result of inadequate nutrition over a longer period. It is a slow, cumulative process, the effects of which are usually not apparent until the age of two years. Severe acute malnutrition (SAM) is the most dangerous form of malnutrition. Left untreated, SAM can result in death.Sources: Action contre la Faim and UNICEFSupplementary Plumpy Treats moderate acute malnutrition and deficiency-related illnesses in children aged one to five. It is also given to children leaving therapeutic nutrition programmes to prevent the re-emergence of severe acute malnutrition. Supplementary Plumpy requires no cooking or refrigeration, the dose is generally one sachet per day per child, and the duration of treatment is three months. It contains vegetable fat, sugar, soya flour, peanut paste, whey powder, fat-reduced cocoa, and mineral and vitamin complex. Therapeutic milk F75 For the initial phase of treating severe malnutrition, and with medical complications. As a rapid weight increase is dangerous during the first phase of treatment for severe acute malnutrition with complications, F75 is designed to re-establish the metabolic balance without weight gain. Treatment is three to four days. Therapeutic milk F100 For nutritional rehabilitation of severely malnourished children. Qualified staff must administer the milk to the children. Use must be closely monitored as the need for water poses a risk of contamination. Both the F75 and F100 milks contain powdered milk, vegetable oil and concentrated combinations of vitamin and dextrin. They are high in energy, proteins and fats.