South and South East Asia

In South Asia 46% of children under 5 are wasted, 44% of children are stunted and 15% are wasted. This is considerably higher than most other regions.

“India, Bangladesh and Pakistan account for half of the world’s underweight children, despite having just 29% of the developing world’s under five population.”

(Progress for children: a report card on nutrition, UNICEF, 2006)

Nevertheless, underweight prevalence in the region declined from 53 per cent in 1990 and five countries are on track to halve the proportion of under fives who are underweight by 2015. In East Asia, Malaysia has the fastest rate of improvement, with underweight prevalence declining more than one half between 1990 and 2003. Singapore and Vietnam are also on track.

Click on the links below to find up to date news from the region. If you have news from South and Southeast Asia that you would like to share, email us.

Effect of provision of daily zinc and iron with several micronutrients on growth and morbidity among young children in Pakistan: a cluster-randomised trial

A study among Pakistani children has found that the use of micronutrient powders reduces iron-deficiency. In this cluster-randomised trial, Soofi and colleagues concluded that the excess burden of diarrhoea and respiratory morbidities associated with micronutrient powder use and the very small effect on growth recorded suggest that a careful assessment of risks and benefits must […]

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IMTF convenors, governors and regional representatives meet

A meeting was held at the IAEA Headquarters, Vienna, March 19-20, 2012 to update members on the IMTF activities in 2011 and to discuss plans for 2012. Below see details and links to reports and presentations made at the meeting. IMTF update and report 2011This was prepared for the meeting to update the group on […]

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Malnutrition E-Learning Launched

The IMTF and Faculty of Medicine University of Southampton have developed an eLearning course titled “Caring for Infants and young children with severe malnutrition” based on the WHO recommended guidelines for the management of severe malnutrition. The course aims at providing a standardised and accessible resource that will facilitate the acquisition by health professionals of […]

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Indian Paediatrics Special Issue on Severe Acute Malnutrition

Indian Pediatrics has brought out a Special Issue (August 2010) on Severe Acute Malnutrition, which deliberates in detail on the global and national evidence relating to pertinent issues on this subject. A statement from Umesh Kapil (Professor Public Health Nutrition) and Prof. H.P.S. Sachdev (Department of Pediatrics and Clinical Epidemiology, Sitaram Bhartia Institute of Science […]

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Workshop on Management of SAM Children through Medical Nutrition Therapy

A Workshop on Management of SAM Children through Medical Nutrition Therapy is being jointly organised in India by: All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi, India Sitaram Bhartia Institute of Science and Research, New Delhi Indian Academy of Pediatrics, Sub-specialty Chapter on Nutrition For more information about the Workshop, please contact Prof. Umesh Kapil, Organizing […]

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Task Force Report To IUNS – Prevention and Control of Malnutrition

The International Malnutrition Task Force (IMTF) for the prevention and control of malnutrition was launched in September 2005 in Durban at the 18th International Congress of Nutrition Aims of the Task Force The aims of the Task Force are:- to establish three regional networks to coordinate technical expertise and develop capacity-building partnerships to raise the […]

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Indian Government Asks UNICEF To Stop Distribution Of Nutrition Aid

“India has asked UNICEF to stop distributing millions of dollars worth of nutrition aid to children, saying it had been done without permission and at the expense of local food to fight hunger,” Reuters reports. Since August 2008, UNICEF has invested about $2.4 million importing “a high energy relief treatment known as ‘Ready to Use […]

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Ready to Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) in the Management of Severe Acute Malnutrition in India

UMESH KAPIL This editorial discusses the issues surrounding Home-based management of Severe Acute Malnutrition with Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food. It also outlines advantages of Home-Based against hospital-based management of SAM. Professor Kapil explains that presently, there is indigenously made RUTF which meets the requisite criteria viz., caloric dense, high in proteins, vitamins and minerals; simple to […]

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Should India use Commercially Produced Ready to use Therapeutic Foods (RUTF) for Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM)

In India, 48% of children under five years of age are stunted and 43% are underweight: almost 8 million children suffer from Severe Acute Malnutrition. Dr Prasad and colleagues are of the view that “the current thinking – that a centrally produced and processed Ready to use Therapeutic Foods should supplant the locally prepared indigenous […]

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