More than one in three low- and middle-income countries face both extremes of malnutrition
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16 December 2019 – Geneva. A new approach is needed to help reduce undernutrition and obesity at the same time, as the issues become increasingly connected due to rapid changes in countries’ food systems. This is especially important in low- and middle-income countries, according to a new four-paper report published in The Lancet. More than a third of such countries had overlapping forms of malnutrition (45 of 123 countries in the 1990s, and 48 of 126 countries in the 2010s), particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, south Asia, and east Asia and the Pacific.
World Food Day: Malnutrition is a world health crisis
26 September 2019 – “Malnutrition is a complex issue, but it is the main cause of death and disease in the world,” says Dr Francesco Branca. We recently worked with Global Cause on the 2019 World Food Day campaign. The World Food Day campaign is dedicating to raising awareness on different forms of malnutrition.
Launch of the Essential Nutrition Actions: mainstreaming nutrition through the life-course
4 September 2019 – The updated edition of the Essential Nutrition Actions (ENA) has been released. This publication promotes the implementation of essential nutrition actions as part of comprehensive and coordinated action from multiple sectors. It recommends strengthening nutrition interventions in the provision of health packages through the health-care system in all settings.
Safeguarding against economic slowdowns and downturns
19 August 2019 – The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2019 is an important measure of global progress towards the Sustainable Development Goal of Zero Hunger. It gives an updated estimate of the number of hungry people in the world, including regional and national breakdowns, and the latest data on child stunting and wasting as well as on adult and child obesity.
World Breastfeeding Week 2019
1 August 2019 – World Breastfeeding Week is celebrated every year from 1 to 7 August to encourage breastfeeding and improve the health of babies around the world. It commemorates the Innocenti Declaration signed in August 1990 by government policymakers, WHO, UNICEF and other organizations to protect, promote and support breastfeeding.
Recommendations for data collection, analysis and reporting on anthropometric indicators in children under 5 years old
28 May 2019 – WHO and UNICEF released the “Recommendations for data collection, analysis and reporting on anthropometric indicators in children under 5 years old” guidance document. This document is intended as a reference for the recommended steps in collecting, analyzing and reporting malnutrition estimates based on anthropometric data in nationally representative surveys. Its objective is to set out standardized methods for generating representative malnutrition estimates based on anthropometric data relating to weight, length/height and age in children less than 5 years old. Improving data quality will fill up data gaps and will allow countries to track their progress towards the Global Nutrition Targets for 2025 and the SDGs for 2030 more effectively.
Five billion people still at risk from industrial trans fat exposure
22 May 2019 | First WHO annual report on trans fat elimination shows some countries are taking action, but more is needed. Six countries restricted industrially produced trans fat since 2018, and another 24 countries, including the European Union, recently adopted trans fat regulations that will come into effect over the next two years. Yet, more than 110 countries still have no regulations against this harmful compound, meaning five billion people are at risk for industrially produced trans fat exposure in the foods they eat every day, according to the first annual global progress report on trans fat elimination issued today by WHO.
UNICEF-WHO Low birthweight estimates: Levels and trends 2000–2015
16 May 2019 | Geneva – More than 20 million babies were born with a low birthweight (less than 2500g; 5.5 pounds) in 2015—around one in seven of all births worldwide according to the first-ever estimates documenting this major health challenge. These findings and more are documented in a new research paper developed by experts from the World Health Organization, UNICEF and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, published in The Lancet Global Health.
Latest publications
- WHO guideline on use of ferritin concentrations to assess iron status in individuals and populations
- UNICEF/WHO/The World Bank Group joint child malnutrition estimates: levels and trends in child malnutrition: key findings of the 2020 edition
- Nitrogen and protein content measurement and nitrogen to protein conversion factors for dairy and soy protein-based foods: a systematic review and modelling analysis
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The Joint FAO/WHO Expert Meetings on Nutrition (JEMNU): nitrogen to protein conversion factors for soy-based and milk-based ingredients used in infant formula and follow-up formula
Report of the meeting of the expert panel, Geneva, Switzerland, 16–17 July 2019 - Global action plan on child wasting: a framework for action to accelerate progress in preventing and managing child wasting and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals
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Protecting, promoting and supporting breastfeeding in facilities providing maternity and newborn services: the revised Baby-friendly Hospital initiative: 2018 implementation guidance
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