HEALTH: WHO malnutrition initiative.

GENEVA, 10 August 2011 (IRIN) - The World Health Organization has launched a web-based information system it hopes will help prevent millions of people from suffering various forms of malnutrition, ranging from under-nutrition to obesity, every year.

One of the major challenges in fighting malnutrition has been the vast and often conflicting array of evidence and advice on nutrition information. The e-Library of Evidence for Nutrition Actions (eLENA) eliminates the inconsistent standards and provides authoritative guidelines to tackle malnutrition, said Francesco Branca, WHO's nutrition director.

"What we need to do is to make clear what are effective interventions,” Branca told journalists in Geneva ahead of the 10 August launch of the e-library at an Asian meeting on nutrition in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

eLENA covers the three main forms of malnutrition: under-nutrition, vitamin and mineral deficiencies, and overweight and obesity.

“Several billion people are affected by one or more types of malnutrition,” said Ala Alwan, WHO's assistant director-general of Non-Communicable Diseases and Mental Health. “Countries need access to the science and evidence-informed guidance to reduce the needless death and suffering associated with malnutrition,” he said.

About 115 million pre-school children worldwide are underweight, while 190 million pre-school children are affected by vitamin A deficiency and 1.6 billion people have anaemia, mostly due to iron deficiency. An estimated 1.5 billion people are overweight, of whom 500 million are obese, according to WHO figures.

The eLENA project is supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Canada-based Micronutrient Initiative and the government of Luxembourg.

Read more »

Oxfam is looking for a new Head of Research

Oxfam's From Poverty to Power maestro, Duncan Green, is moving to a new post of Senior Strategic Advisor. Congrats, Duncan!

To read more about his feelings on the occasion and to apply for his role, check out his blog.

Read more »

Mercy Corps: Walking for weeks to reach Mogadishu's sprawling camps

Courtesy of Cassandra Nelson/Mercy Corps

Please find below excerpts from Cassandra Nelson's account of her field visit. Read the full text here.

"I spent several days visiting the camps in Mogadishu where Mercy Corps is working to provide assistance to people who have been displaced by the famine, as well as years of civil war. There are almost 1.5 million displaced people in Somalia — and one-third of them, almost half a million people, are living in camps in Mogadishu.

Over the past 60 days alone, an estimated 100,000 Somalis — driven by drought and famine — have fled to Mogadishu in search of food, water, shelter and other assistance. Tens of thousands of people are moving in search of assistance and temporarily settle anywhere they can find a little space to set up a makeshift shelter.

 

For these displaced families, life is that of absolute destitution as they face a myriad of challenges ranging from thirst, hunger, exposure to the harsh sun, severe malnutrition, cholera, disease and more. Tens of thousands of people have already died." (Cassandra Nelson/Mercy Corps)

Read the full story here.

Read more »

Sharing Water: Connections and Collaboration for the Horn of Africa

Courtesy of Joy Portella/ Mercy Corps

On 15th  August, The Humanitarian Forum brought together 61 people from 13 countries to improve connections and collaboration, in partnership with the OIC. They represented multilateral organisations like the UN, Islamic Development Bank  and Red Cross/Crescent movement, western and Muslim international NGOs, and local Kenyan and Somali NGOs.

Dr Hany el Banna, Chairman, The Humanitarian Forum said "today is about tomorrow: about what we need to do for recovery and sustainable development, not just fire-fighting". He added, "the humanitarian family needs to come up with solutions as we know the suffering of the people."

Dr Zakaria Adam Ahmed of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation said that the OIC was pleased to be able to participate with The Humanitarian Forum in the meeting. He discussed recent OIC initiatives for coordination about Somalia.

Mark Bowden, UN Humanitarian Coordinator said that "there has been a lot of progress ... but there is still much complexity and challenge ... Somalia is at the epicentre of a regional crisis". He outlined the humanitarian challenges. He also emphasised that "humanitarian activities should also lead to a better future in development terms".

In a presentation on the humanitarian situation, needs, response to date and gaps, Kiki Gbeho, OCHA, said that drought, food prices (270% in some areas) and conflict have put 3.7m people into crisis in Somalia, many of whom are in the South and are displaced. The situation is desperate for many people, and some have walked for 4 weeks to get to refugee camps. However, "the crisis was predictable but there has been slow recognition of this". Problems are access, food and funding. Also, it is far better to help people in their home areas. "Thank you for bringing us together ... OCHA is hoping that from today we can move forward together."

OCHA also pointed out regional challenges - 12.4m people are in need in the Horn of Africa. Kenyan NGOs also said that in some areas the situation could get as bad as Somalia in 2-3 weeks: "There is an overwhelming need". Many of the issues are cross-border and a regional approach is needed.

A wide-ranging debate focused around 3 key issues:

1.    Muslim donors and humanitarian organisations. These have access to different donors, and perhaps better access in different parts of Somalia. The OIC is creating an umbrella group for Muslim INGOs working in Somalia. The participants discussed how the OIC and UN systems could work together better.

2.    The participants also emphasised the need to build resilience and think long term. The Islamic Development Bank, through Abdo Mohammed Al Taki, summed up the mood of the meeting, saying that we need to focus on development not just relief. The OIC committed to hold a meeting after Eid to bring the wide range of participants together to define a strategy for recovery.

3.    It is also vital to engage the Somali community, including businessmen and the Diaspora, and to build the capacity of civil society. The Somali Relief and Development Forum said that CSOs want to be part of the long-term solution. Local CSOs called for technical assistance, partnership in programmes, funding.

James Shaw-Hamilton, Director of The Humanitarian Forum, said he "hopes that this is the start of an ongoing conversation amongst the wide group of participants. THF hopes to be involved in this again, but we challenge you to continue straight away."

The meeting was very participative, with a mixture of plenary discussions and working groups looking at the needs in different geographical areas, and also at themes.

Notes for editors

The Humanitarian Forum is a global network of key humanitarian and development organizations from Muslim donor and recipient countries, the West and the multilateral system. We improve the effectiveness and efficiency of aid by addressing identified gaps between humanitarian communities through training, dialogue and cooperation, working internationally and in partner countries like Indonesia, Libya and Yemen.

Read more »

Crisis or no crisis…

That is not a question. For the last three decades, the Horn of Africa has been experiencing famine, drought and ongoing humanitarian crisis. The Guardian newspaper highlights that 50 years ago the region had regular 10-year climate cycles which were mostly followed by a major drought. Now the droughts are becoming more frequent and more desperate as they are lasting longer.

The combination of a long, drawn-out civil war, frequent drought and the lack of rainfall every year has lead to many civilians fleeing Somalia, Eritrea and Ethiopia, a few hundred of thousand to Yemen. Thousands of men, women and children who fled from starvation are currently making their way to the refugee camps as a matter of survival, often walking for weeks, if not months without food and water to reach help.

The fleeing Somalis seen on TV are the same people the UN warned about in 2008 when it said that one in six were at risk of starvation. Josette Sheeran, head of the UN's World Food Programme, appealed for $300m emergency aid– just as she did in 2008 when she told of "a silent tsunami [of hunger] gathering".

Then there comes the argument of how best to deal with the famine and prevent this from occurring in the future. Many have suggested that genetically modified crops and plants be made readily available, as this could solve the world’s food shortage. However, from an ethical point of perspective it can be argued that GM crops are not natural and not enough research has yet been carried on the possible effects on human health.

This emergency will cost the West around $400m. If this money would have been invested into long-term development, this tragedy could have been avoided. Let us hope the world will not be in this position again in one or two year’s time.

Read more »