Day: September 21, 2021

Young children’s diets show no improvement in last decade, ‘could get much worse’ under COVID-19

During crucial period when children begin to transition to solid foods, just 1 in 3 are fed a diet diverse enough to grow well

NEW YORK, 22 September 2021 – Children under the age of 2 are not getting the food or nutrients they need to thrive and grow well, leading to irreversible developmental harm, according to a new report released by UNICEF today.

Fed to Fail? The crisis of children’s diets in early life– released ahead of the UN Food Systems Summit this week – warns that rising poverty, inequality, conflict, climate-related disasters, and health emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic, are contributing to an ongoing nutrition crisis among the world’s youngest that has shown little sign of improvement in the last ten years.

“The report’s findings are clear: When the stakes are highest, millions of young children are being fed to fail,” said UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore. “Poor nutritional intake in the first two years of life can irreversibly harm children’s rapidly growing bodies and brains, impacting their schooling, job prospects and futures. While we have known this for years, there has been little progress on providing the right kind of nutritious and safe foods for the young. In fact, the ongoing COVID-19 disruptions could make the situation much worse.”

In an analysis of 91 countries, the report finds that only half of children aged 6-23 months are being fed the minimum recommended number of meals a day, while just a third consume the minimum number of food groups they need to thrive. Further analysis of 50 countries with available trend data reveals these poor feeding patterns have persisted throughout the last decade.

As COVID-19 continues to disrupt essential services and drives more families into poverty, the report finds that the pandemic is affecting how families feed their children. For example, a survey conducted among urban households in Jakarta found that half of families have been forced to reduce nutritious food purchases. As a result, the percentage of children consuming the minimum recommended number of food groups fell by a third in 2020, compared to 2018.

Children carry the scars of poor diets and feeding practices for life. An insufficient intake of nutrients found in vegetables, fruits, eggs, fish and meat needed to support growth at an early age puts children at risk of poor brain development, weak learning, low immunity, increased infections and, potentially, death.

Children under the age of two are most vulnerable to all forms of malnutrition – stunting, wasting, micronutrient deficiencies, and overweight and obesity – as a result of poor diets, due to their greater need for essential nutrients per kilogram of body weight than at any other time in life.

Globally, UNICEF estimates that more than half of children under the age of 5 with wasting – around 23 million children – are younger than 2 years of age, while the prevalence of stunting increases rapidly between 6 months and two years, as children’s diets fail to keep pace with their growing nutritional needs.

According to the report, children aged 6-23 months living in rural areas or from poorer households are significantly more likely to be fed poor diets compared to their urban or wealthier peers. In 2020, for example, the proportion of children fed the minimum number of recommended food groups was twice as high in urban areas (39 per cent) than in rural areas (23 per cent).

To deliver nutritious, safe, and affordable diets to every child, the report calls for governments, donors, civil society organizations and development actors to work hand-in-hand to transform food, health and social protection systems by leading key actions, including:

Increasing the availability and affordability of nutritious foods – including fruits, vegetables, eggs, fish meat and fortified foods – by incentivizing their production, distribution and retailing.

Implementing national standards and legislation to protect young children from unhealthy processed and ultra-processed foods and beverages, and to end harmful marketing practices targeting children and families.

Increasing the desirability of nutritious and safe foods through multiple communication channels including digital media to reach parents and children with easy to understand, coherent information.

The report notes that progress is possible with investment. In Latin America and the Caribbean, for example, almost two thirds (62 per cent) of children aged 6–23 months are fed a minimally diverse diet, while in Eastern and Southern Africa (24 per cent), West and Central Africa (21 per cent) and South Asia (19 per cent), less than one in four young children are being fed a minimally diverse diet. In all regions, investments are needed to ensure that all children benefit from the diverse diets they need to prevent all forms of malnutrition, and grow, develop and learn to their full potential.

“Children cannot survive or thrive on calories alone,” said Fore. “Only by joining forces with governments, the private sector, civil society, development and humanitarian partners, and families can we transform food systems and unlock nutritious, safe and affordable diets for every child. The upcoming UN Food Systems Summit is an important opportunity to set the stage for global food systems that meet the needs of all children.”

Notes to Editors

Quantitative data on current status, trends and inequities of young children’s diets presented in this report are derived from UNICEF’s global databases, which include only data that are internationally comparable and statistically sound. UNICEF global databases comprise data from 607 nationally representative surveys conducted in 135 countries and territories, representing more than 90 per cent of all children under the age of 2 globally.

Source: UN Children's Fund

The U.S. government is urging the Ethiopian government, rebel group Tigray People’s Liberation Front, and other warring factions to end the conflict in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region and allow humanitarian aid to reach millions in need of assistance. Unless the conflict stops, key officials could be facing U.S. travel and financial sanctions.

Speaking at an online press briefing Monday, Bryan Hunt, the acting deputy assistant secretary for East Africa, said the U.S. government wants to see an end to the 10-month conflict in Tigray.

“If the government of Ethiopia and the TPLF take meaningful steps to enter into talks for a negotiated cease-fire and allow for unhindered humanitarian access, a different path is possible, and the United States is ready to help mobilize assistance for Ethiopia to recover and revitalize its economy. Those meaningful steps include accepting African Union-led mediation efforts, designating negotiation teams, agreeing to negotiations without preconditions, and accepting an invitation to initial talks,” he said.

Hunt also said the parties should allow convoys of trucks carrying humanitarian aid to reach Tigray and restore essential services to the region.

On Friday, U.S. President Joe Biden signed an executive order that paves the way for sanctions on Ethiopian government officials, Eritrea and other groups involved in the Tigray conflict.

Hunt said other tools to press for a peaceful resolution to the conflict have failed.

“This conflict has already sparked one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world today, with more than five million people requiring assistance, of which over 900,000 are already living in famine conditions. For far too long, the parties to this conflict have ignored international calls to initiate discussions to achieve a negotiated cease-fire and the human rights and humanitarian situations have worsened,” he said.

The U.S. government said the sanctions program will not affect personal remittances to non-sanctioned persons, humanitarian assistance, and international and local organizations' activities.

Ethiopian army troops invaded Tigray last November, following months of rising tension between the government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Tigray’s ruling party, the TPLF.

Erik Woodhouse, deputy assistant secretary for the U.S. State Department’s Counter Threat Finance and Sanctions Bureau, said the sanctions aim to warn sides to find a solution to the conflict rather than using the military.

“Sanctions are a tool that seek to change the behavior of the targets. These measures impose tangible costs on human rights abusers and perpetrators of conflict. By imposing such costs, the United States seeks to send a signal that such actions are not without consequence,” he said.

Professor Chacha Nyaigotti Chacha, a specialist in diplomacy and international relations at the University of Nairobi, said sanctions are not always effective.

“Some of the leadership, when such sanctions are threatened to be applied, they don’t care. So, sanctions may not work because the idea of a sanctioning, the idea of stopping opportunities from a flowing country which you are sanctioning is to make them feel the pinch then change their trend. But sometimes they don’t care,” said Chacha.

In a letter to Biden, Prime minister Abiy defended his actions in Tigray, saying his government has stabilized the region and addressed humanitarian needs amid a hostile environment created by the TPLF.

Source: Voice of America

A prominent human rights group has accused Kenya's government of failing to adopt preventive measures to protect women and girls during pandemic lockdowns and curfews. Human Rights Watch says the government failed to ensure access to health, economic, and social support services, adding to an increase in sexual and other forms of abuse against women and girls.

In a 61-page report entitled “I had nowhere to go,” Human Rights Watch documented how the government failed victims of gender-based violence as the government introduced lockdowns, issued restrictions of the movement of people to combat the spread of the coronavirus.

Agnes Odhiambo is human rights researcher on Women's Issues. Speaking Tuesday at a press conference in Nairobi, she said the pandemic has increased violence against women, as they were confined to their homes.

"Women were at increased risk of violence because of increased social isolation spending a lot of time in the home, in the house being stuck with someone who is abusing you. Many women did also not get information on how they could get help during lockdowns," Odhiambo said. "The breakdown of community structures for support and networks in communities also means that many women did not have somewhere to go and get help.”

Human rights watch investigators spoke to 13 survivors, community workers, experts and officials working with the police program meant to combat violence against women.

Victims told the rights group they were sexually abused, faced beatings and were thrown out of their homes. Young girls were forced to marry at a younger age and to undergo female genital mutilation.

The investigators found that most survivors did not report the abuse to the authorities because they believed they would not receive assistance.

Others believed they would have to bribe authorities to get assistance and could not pay.

Beverline Ongaro works at the office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights. She told journalists they would work with Kenyan authorities to ensure survivors get protection and justice.

“It provides us with an insight on the barriers survivors face and what needs to be done by duty barriers from survivors perspective and ultimately for the government to comply with its human rights obligations as under treaties and under Kenyan law particularly the constitution," said Ongaro. "Allow me to reiterate that when we tolerate GBV [gender-based violence], it violates the human rights of the survivors and also their humanity.”

Kenya's government has passed a number of laws in response to gender-based violence. It also has established guidelines for responding to such violence by police, specialized medical personnel, and justice officials.

But perpetrators of these abuses often find a way to around the rules, using money and connections.

Human Rights Watch is calling on the government to build a solid rights-based framework to protect and give justice to women and girls in the future.

Source: Voice of America