UN Agencies Warn Malnutrition For Billions, Including Children, Mothers In Asia, Pacific

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, UN Children's Fund, World Food Programme and the World Health Organization, in a joint report, has warned that the economic impact of COVID-19 on the world's most populous region is threatening to further undermine efforts to improve diets and nutrition of nearly two billion people in Asia and the Pacific

PESHAWAR, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 21st Jan, 2021 ) :Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, UN Children's Fund, World Food Programme and the World Health Organization, in a joint report, has warned that the economic impact of COVID-19 on the world's most populous region is threatening to further undermine efforts to improve diets and nutrition of nearly two billion people in Asia and the Pacific.

The report published on Thursday by the four specialized agencies said that the two billion population was already unable to afford healthy diets prior to the pandemic.

The launching of the report was held in an online event held in Bangkok, Thailand and attended by Dr Sania Nishtar, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Nets, among others as a key speaker.

The report, "Asia and the Pacific Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition 2020: Maternal and Child Diets at the Heart of Improving Nutrition" found that 1.9 billion people were unable to afford a healthy diet in this region, even before the COVID-19 outbreak and the damage it has since caused to economies and individual livelihoods.

It noted that due to higher prices for fruits, vegetables and dairy products, it has become nearly impossible for poor people in Asia and the Pacific to achieve healthy diets, the affordability of which is critical to ensure food security and nutrition for all and for mothers and children in particular.

The report revealed that across the region of Asia and Pacific an estimated 74.5 million children under 5 years of age were stunted and 31.5 million suffered from wasting (too thin for height). The majority of these children live in Southern Asia with nearly 56 million stunted and more than 25 million wasted.

At the same time, overweight and obesity has increased rapidly, especially in South-Eastern Asia and the Pacific, with an estimated 14.5 million children under 5, being overweight or obese.

The report calls for a transformation of food systems in Asia and the Pacific, with an aim to increase the affordability of, and families' access to, nutritious, safe, and sustainable diets. The report recommended integrated approaches and policies to overcome unaffordability issues, and also to ensure healthy maternal and child diets.

It further said that greater attention is also needed to operationalize national policies and plans to improve the delivery of health services for maternal and child diets and good nutrition outcomes.

Services to improve the diets of mothers and young children should be prioritized as part of the essential package of health services needed to address under-nutrition, overweight and obesity and to achieve universal health coverage, it added.

It said that at least nine governments in Asia and Pacific have established a targeted mother and child COVID-19 component in their social protection systems. However, more data collection and analysis are needed to document the effectiveness of social protection in improving maternal and child diets in the region.

It said that the governments need to invest in nutrition and food safety in fresh and street food markets to promote healthy diets. Regulation of sales and marketing of food for consumers, especially children, is important to curb overweight, obesity and related diseases and illness.

The report also calls for action within the private sector, as it has an important role to play in supporting the transformation of the food system and its value chains for achieving healthy diets.

Leveraging these systems, in a coordinated fashion that expands the opportunities to address barriers to accessing and consuming healthy diets, will help countries and the people of Asia and the Pacific recover faster from the economic impact of COVID-19, and be better prepared for future crises.