‘Malnutrition tops 11pc in Bangladesh refugee camps’

A recent nutrition screening of 1,862 children in Balukhali, Jamtoli and Thangkhali refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh found 199 (11 per cent) children with severe acute malnutrition (SAM), according to child-focused World Vision, which conducted the seven-week assessment ending mid-December, reports Reliefweb. “This data is alarmingly high. Although the sample size is only a fraction of all the children under five in the camps, even one child with SAM puts us one step closer to a higher mortality rate,” said Fred Witteveen, national director of World Vision Bangladesh. Severe acute malnutrition, the most visible and extreme form of undernutrition, is one of the world’s leading causes of death among children under five.

Based on joint aid agency data from Cox’s Bazar in mid-December, of more than 35,000 children diagnosed with SAM, 18,083 have been admitted to therapeutic feeding centers for treatment, while close to 17,000 children are still in need of treatment. A recent multi-agency emergency nutrition assessment showed the prevalence of global acute malnutrition (GAM) among all children 6-59 months of age at 24 per cent. The World Health Organization threshold for declaring a nutrition emergency is 15 per cent.

Contributing causes Poor access to clean water and improved sanitation can hurt a child’s nutritional status through diarrhoeal diseases and intestinal infections.

According to a 3 December report in Cox’s Bazar, more than half a million people do not have adequate access to clean water and sanitation in and around the camps. Donors have funded only 23 percent of what is needed to provide 1.2 million people with sufficient water and basic sanitation. The continued arrival of refugees has further stretched already scarce facilities. Of the more than 5,300 tube wells installed, only 70 per cent work properly, while a little over one-third of the 35,650 temporary latrines are already not working.

Malnutrition tops 11pc in Bangladesh refugee camps

A recent nutrition screening of 1,862 children in Balukhali, Jamtoli and Thangkhali refugee camps in Coxs Bazar, Bangladesh found 199 (11 per cent) children with severe acute malnutrition (SAM), according to child-focused World Vision, which conducted the seven-week assessment ending mid-December, reports Reliefweb. This data is alarmingly high. Although the sample size is only a fraction of all the children under five in the camps, even one child with SAM puts us one step closer to a higher mortality rate, said Fred Witteveen, national director of World Vision Bangladesh. Severe acute malnutrition, the most visible and extreme form of undernutrition, is one of the worlds leading causes of death among children under five. Based on joint aid agency data from Coxs Bazar in mid-December, of more than 35,000 children diagnosed with SAM, 18,083 have been admitted to therapeutic feeding centers for treatment, while close to 17,000 children are still in need of treatment. A recent multi-agency emergency nutrition assessment showed the prevalence of global acute malnutrition (GAM) among all children 6-59 months of age at 24 per cent. The World Health Organization threshold for declaring a nutrition emergency is 15 per cent. Contributing causes Poor access to clean water and improved sanitation can hurt a childs nutritional status through diarrhoeal diseases and intestinal infections. According to a 3 December report in Coxs Bazar, more than half a million people do not have adequate access to clean water and sanitation in and around the camps. Donors have funded only 23 percent of what is needed to provide 1.2 million people with sufficient water and basic sanitation. The continued arrival of refugees has further stretched already scarce facilities. Of the more than 5,300 tube wells installed, only 70 per cent work properly, while a little over one-third of the 35,650 temporary latrines are already not working.