WFP: Nepal malnutrition worse than in Sub-Saharan Africa

WFP warns for severe malnutrition in Nepal that is being neglected by the international community, the Global Politician reports.

The combination of high food prices and the economic downturn has the makings of a grave humanitarian crisis in Nepal (Ranks 142 out of 177 countries in the Human Development Index in 2007) as it has been estimated that 41 of the 75 districts are food deficit. This reveals the grave nutritional statistics across Nepal – Half of children under the age of five in these districts are stunted, while 39 percent of children are underweight and 13 percent are severely malnourished according to the WFP. Meanwhile in some areas chronic malnutrition rates for children under 5 are 80 percent with acute malnutrition rates as high as 23 percent reports WFP. Unfortunately, these realities are not subjected to change in the near future as most Nepalese families survive as subsistence farmers with 24 percent of the population living on less than US$1 per day.

Key to solving this problem is the diversification of farms to increase food production, which

requires essential policy modifications to set up more effective links between food security and workable agricultural development strategies. The heart and soul of the new food security strategy should be better access of poor families to both - the farm and the food.

India Suffers Droughts, But Doesn't Want Plumpy'nut

India's Meteorological Department has released mid-monsoon season figures indicating a nationwide rain deficit of 25%, the Indian Telegraph reports. This may significantly affect the agricultural production in India, with analysts predicting a drop of 10% in production for some regions.

Drought and floods in some areas have resulted in a 25 per cent less sowing of paddy. Agriculture ministry officials are hoping that late rains would see paddy sowing going up in August.

The cause for the lack of rain is attributed to El Nino.
In the meantime, the Indian government says that it has enough stocks from previous years to compensate for the expected losses, and that it is considering a range of actions, among others to prevent food prices from soaring.

This news coincides with the Indian government's denying UNICEF to use Plumpy'nut in combating malnourishment in Bihar and Madhya Pradesh. The malnourishment is said to be worse than in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Despite the fact that WHO has accredited Plumpy'nut as ready-to-use terapeutic food (RUTF), the government does not believe in its effectiveness. Moreover, this particular kind of RUTF was not agreed upon with UNICEF. It prefers Indian alternatives, but these are still being tested and are thus not yet available.

Unicef officials said that there was no local alternative at the time and that RUTF was a medical formula, not a food, which is used to treat, rather than to prevent, malnutrition. “Children with severe acute malnutrition are at risk of imminent death and need immediate, lifesaving treatment,” Angela Walker, a Unicef spokeswoman, said. “Family foods or supplementary foods are not enough; these children need very specific treatment for their condition.” [...]
Other campaigners and experts said that a solution may lie in Indian-made RUTF, which is being produced by at least two Indian companies for export. Médecins sans Frontières, the French medical charity which treats malnutrition in Bihar and other states, said that it was testing local products and hoped to start using them by the end of the year.

IRIN: Dhaka residents threatened by heavily polluted rivers

Several voices warn that the heavy pollution of the rivers around Dhaka has affected the aquatic life beyond rescuing, IRIN reports. Also, this impacts the lives of the Bangladeshi, who need to change jobs, live with the stench and risk skin diseases and other health hazards. Earlier this year, the industral sector admitted that is lacks social responsibility plans, especially when it comes to effluent treatment plants.

"The concentration of organic pollutant in the Buriganga is 17 times higher than the allowable limit of 3mg per litre. Chemical pollutants like ammonia, aluminium, cadmium, lead and mercury have also been detected in the Buriganga," SM Mahbubur Rahman, head of the water resource planning division of the Institute of Water Modelling (IWM), said.
The lone sewage treatment facility operated and maintained by Dhaka Water Supply and Sanitation Authority (DWASA) has a treatment capacity of 0.12 million cubic metres per day, while the daily volume of sewage generated in Dhaka city is 1.3 million cubic metres.

Furthermore, the islands in Bangladesh are severely affected by rising tydes and cyclones - especially since tropical cyclone Aila destroyed much of its dykes and flood barriers earlier this year inMay. The Guardian posted an album with pictures of the repair efforts.

IRI: what you always wanted to know about El Niño/La Niña

The International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI) has cleared up some misconceptions about El Niño and La Niña, and their impact on climate and natural disasters. But what are they exactly?

El Niño refers to the occasional warming of the eastern and central Pacific Ocean around the equator. The warmer water tends to get only 1 to 3 degrees Celsius above average sea-surface temperatures for that area, although in the very strong El Niño of 1997-98, it reached 5 degrees or more above average in some locations. La Niña is the climatological counterpart to El Niño-- a yin to its yang, so to speak. A La Niña is defined by cooler-than-normal sea-surface temperatures across much of the equatorial eastern and central Pacific. El Niño and La Niña episodes each tend to last roughly a year, although occasionally they may last 18 months or longer.

This warming/cooling of the Pacific can have serious impacts on changes in local climate, potentially leading to severe natural disasters, resulting in loss of life and property during floods, failed harvests, increased risk of certain vector-borne diseases such as malaria, ...
But here are some misconceptions - what El Niño and La Niña do not do:

• El Niño periods cause more disasters than normal periods.
• El Niño and La Niña significantly affect the climate in most regions of the globe.
• Regions that are affected by El Niño and La Niña see impacts during the entire 8 to 12 months that the climate conditions last.
• El Niño episodes lead to adverse impacts only.
• We should worry more during El Niño episodes than La Niña episodes.
• The stronger the El Niño/La Niña, the stronger the impacts, and vice versa.
• El Niño and La Niña events are directly responsible for specific storms or other weather events.
• El Niño and La Niña are closely related to global warming.

To find out what the actual effects are, read the extended blog post and check out the article on AlertNet.

• El Niño periods cause more disasters than normal periods. On a worldwide scale that is not the case. However, regionally more disasters may occur. These are fairly consistent, though, and quite predictable. Early warnings can reduce the negative impacts.
  
• El Niño and La Niña significantly affect the climate in most regions of the globe. Actually, they significantly affect only about 25% of the world's land surface during any particular season, and less than 50% of land surface during the entire time that ENSO conditions persist.
• Regions that are affected by El Niño and La Niña see impacts during the entire 8 to 12 months that the climate conditions last. No, impacts are only felt during one season, yet these seasons may differ across the world.
  
• El Niño episodes lead to adverse impacts only. El Niño events are also associated with reduced frequency of Atlantic hurricanes, warmer winter temperatures in northern half of U.S., which reduce heating costs, and plentiful spring/summer rainfall in southeastern Brazil, central Argentina and Uruguay, which leads to above-average summer crop yields.
• We should worry more during El Niño episodes than La Niña episodes. This is not necessarily the case - they each have their own specific effects. The El Niño effects tend to be more mediatised, however.
  
• The stronger the El Niño/La Niña, the stronger the impacts, and vice versa. The impacts on climate-related disasters are only predictions, they do not always occur.
  
• El Niño and La Niña events are directly responsible for specific storms or other weather events. Usually you can't pin a single event on an El Niño or La Niña, just like you can't blame global climate changes for any single hurricane.
• El Niño and La Niña are closely related to global warming. El Niño and La Niña are a normal part of the earth's climate and have likely been occurring for millions of years. Global climate change may affect ENSO cycles, but the research is still ongoing.

Climate Change: Can the Climate Panel have Climate Impact?

In a NYTimes article, Andrew C. Revkin problematises the role of scientists in the fight against climate change. Should scientists speak out and provide policy makers with clear guidelines, or should they limit themselves to merely presenting their models, forecasts and findings in a scientific (i.e. objective and neutral) way?

Leaders from the most visible and known group of scientists working on climate change, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), including its president Rajendra K. Pachauri, have decided to speak out - albeit in a personal capacity. Their motivation is the big gap between the policy neutral reports of the IPCC (although others contest this neutrality) and the lack of action by the policy makers and world leaders that so support these reports.

In helping to make up your minds on climate change and its humanitarian impact, the Humanitarian Relief blog has compiled a list of resources, including campaigns, news reports, maps and other blogs.
See also the OCHA website on the humanitarian impact of climate change, with some general information and videos.

GHA Report 2009: money - what do we do with it?

The new Global Humanitarian Assistance Report is out. It provides an overview of how much is spent on humanitarian assistance, where it goes and how this meets/does not meet the needs of the beneficiaries.

The four main chapters focus on

• official (DAC) humanitarian assistance
• humanitarian assistance from non-DAC donors
• humanitarian assistance through NGOs
• financial mechanisms

Financing decisions affect behaviour and humanitarian architecture. They help determine the power of different groups and they influence policy priorities and capacity development. The financial choices made within and between humanitarian crises will often have consequences that are felt well beyond the scope of the original time-bound intervention. In short, humanitarian assistance is not just about the scale of contributions.

WHO: Breastfeeding - an emergency response

Emergencies – whether caused by conflict or natural disasters – are extraordinary events that can jeopardize the health and survival of large populations. Children are among the most vulnerable groups during emergencies, and small children are the most vulnerable of all, as they face a triple risk of death from diarrhoeal disease, pneumonia and undernutrition.

Breastfeeding during emergencies saves lives

The life-saving role of breastfeeding during emergencies is firmly supported by evidence and guidance. The Global Strategy for Infant and Young Child Feeding outlines actions to improve infant and young child feeding in emergencies. In all situations, the best way of preventing malnutrition and mortality among infants and young children is to ensure that they start breastfeeding within one hour of birth, breastfeed exclusively (with no food or liquid other than breast milk, not even water) until six months of age and continue breastfeeding with appropriate complementary foods up to two years or beyond. Even in emergency situations, the aim should be to create and sustain an environment that encourages frequent breastfeeding for children up to at least two years of age.

Read more on Reliefweb.