MISSISSAUGA, Ont. -
Canadians take many things for granted when preparing their children's lunches: that their carrot sticks are packed with vitamin A, that the salt on their crackers is iodized and that their milk is supplemented with vitamin D. Not so in the developing world, says Barbara Main, a public health specialist with World Vision.
In many impoverished countries, she explains, a variety of foods are not accessible and often the available foods have limited nutrients. Further compounding the problem are unbalanced diets. The results are tragic, contributing to 30 million babies born undernourished and 10 million preschool children dead of malnutrition each year.
World Vision nutritionists knew that such tragedies could be prevented by improving access to micronutrients such as iron, iodine and vitamin A. These life-sustaining vitamins and minerals are only needed in "micro" quantities, but their absence can lead to lower mental capacity, blindness and, when combined with illness, premature death.
In response, World Vision launched the Micronutrient and Health Program for Africa (MICAH), adopting a grassroots strategy to reduce micronutrient deficiencies and help prevent illness and death caused by malnutrition. Between 1996 and 2005, it worked with local and national partners in five African countries: Ghana, Ethiopia, Malawi, Senegal and Tanzania. MICAH worked in the following ways: to build local capacity to increase micronutrient intake with education and supplementation, to encourage families to modify dietary behaviour, to strengthen parents' capacity to provide nutritious food for their children, and to reduce diseases that affect micronutrient status.
The result of this approach was a documented decrease in malnutrition among children under five years of age. Malnutrition was significantly reduced in all five countries; chronic malnutrition (short for age) decreased overall from 45 to 31% on average!
Now the MICAH program has been honoured with a prestigious Canadian Award for International Cooperation. At a ceremony in Fredericton in May, MICAH team members received the CHF Award for Improvement of Social Infrastructure. Co-funded by the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), the award recognizes projects that generate positive long-term outcomes that are environmentally and socially sustainable, and result in poverty reduction.
"In Canada," says Main, "our health-care system has the role and ability to monitor health and nutrition, and prevent and treat disease. If Canadian mothers are poor, government support is available to assist them. But in Africa, governments don't always have sufficient resources to deal with families' nutrition-related needs."
MICAH addressed both sides of the problem using a multi-pronged approach. This included community education, direct supplementation and fortification of everyday foods, and the promotion of "revolving funds" - a community-owned bank of resources (small animals, seeds, seedlings) - to ensure local access to animal foods and micronutrient-rich fruits and vegetables.
Program staff also worked with local flour mills on a commercial enterprise to fortify maize. One local mill started producing a fortified blended cereal, which is now used as baby food throughout the country.
In most countries, villagers often purchase their salt from traders. Thanks to MICAH, they are now aware that iodized salt prevents stillbirths, mental retardation and goitre. When a trader pulls in, the village chief or volunteer appears with a salt test kit. The community watches as the clear liquid drops onto the white salt. If the salt does not change colour, the community knows that there is no iodine in the salt, and they send the trader on his way. On a national scale, MICAH-inspired efforts even led some countries to require imported salt to be iodized.
A 2006 MICAH report found that children's quality of life had significantly improved in the five countries where the program was implemented. Positive changes in knowledge and behaviour were noted. The promotion of exclusive breastfeeding was a key message; by the end of the program, on average, three times as many mothers were practicing this important life-saving measure. In Ghana, the percentage of preschoolers getting sufficient iron rose from 25 to 69 per cent, while in Ethiopia, the percentage of preschoolers getting sufficient vitamin A jumped from nine to 70 per cent. In all, more than seven million people to date are estimated to have benefited from MICAH.
Drawing on the success of MICAH, World Vision continues to promote nutrition and health programs in many of the country development programs it supports. One of these programs was initiated in Ghana and Tanzania last year. Now this program is being implemented in six countries (Cambodia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania). It targets many of the deadliest killers of children under five, including malnutrition, malaria, pneumonia and other preventable diseases. Like MICAH, the program is being funded by CIDA, in collaboration with World Vision Canada.
Click for final report
World Vision is a Christian relief, development and advocacy organization dedicated to working with children, families and communities to overcome poverty and injustice. Motivated by our Christian faith, we serve all people regardless of religion, race, gender or ethnicity. For more information, please visit WorldVision.ca.
For more information, or to arrange an interview, contact:
Deborah Wolfe
905-565-6200 ext. 3619
deborah_wolfe@worldvision.ca
World Vision Moderates Peace Talks in UgandaFebruary 12, 2007
Top negotiators representing the Ugandan government and the rebel group Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) reiterated their commitment to resume stalled peace talks during a teleconference organized by World Vision in Kampala, Uganda. New Violence Threatens Aid Response in DarfurDecember 15, 2006
Nearly half a million people have less access to humanitarian assistance as a result of increasing military activity, banditry and direct violence against aid workers in early December. Food Aid in Peril in Darfur, SudanMay 01, 2006
World Vision, one of the World Food Programme’s (WFP) largest partner agencies, says that the more than 220,000 people in Sudan’s Darfur region that it serves will suffer further as a result of the food ration cuts. Children Suffering of Malnutrition in NigerJuly 27, 2005
Malnutrition and mortality rates are critically high among children under five in Maradi and Zinder regions where World Vision operates area development programs. Government of Niger Declares Food EmergencyJune 01, 2005
The government of Niger declares an emergency after drought and locusts force famine on the world's second poorest country. World Vision prepares for food distribution. |
 |
|
