Locally Produced Snack Developed To Treat Child Malnutrition
Posted: Tue Dec 18, 2018 2:13 pm
New fish-based therapeutic food launched in Cambodia to treat kids with malnutrition
Source: Xinhua| 2018-12-17 20:41:59|Editor: xuxin
PHNOM PENH, Dec. 17 (Xinhua) -- A new fish-based wafer snack - Nutrix, produced to treat severe acute malnutrition in children, was launched in Cambodia on Monday, according to a joint statement.
Nutrix has been developed by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development, Copenhagen University and Danish Care Foods, in collaboration with the Cambodian government, the joint statement said.
At the launch of the Nutrix production site in Phnom Penh, the partners announced that the ready-to-use-therapeutic food will be produced at scale, to address malnutrition in children in Cambodia, it said.
Approximately 2.6 percent of children in Cambodia are diagnosed with severe acute malnutrition, the statement said, adding that to treat them, home-based ready-to-use therapeutic foods are prescribed as a treatment and without these, many children may need to be hospitalized.
Wivina Belmonte, UNICEF deputy regional director to East Asia and Pacific, said in East Asia and Pacific, over five million children under the age of five are affected by severe acute malnutrition annually, which is a major cause of death in children under five.
According to the statement, well-known ready-to-use therapeutic foods made with peanut and dairy are imported into Cambodia. However, ingredients in Nutrix are locally sourced which makes it 20 percent cheaper to produce.
"By using a product adapted to local taste and local preferences we can make a real impact on malnutrition in Cambodia," said Frank Wieringa from the French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development.
"This is important because besides the 2.6 percent of children with severe acute malnutrition, another 8 percent of children suffer moderate acute malnutrition in Cambodia, which is a staggering number," he said.
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-1 ... 680643.htm
Source: Xinhua| 2018-12-17 20:41:59|Editor: xuxin
PHNOM PENH, Dec. 17 (Xinhua) -- A new fish-based wafer snack - Nutrix, produced to treat severe acute malnutrition in children, was launched in Cambodia on Monday, according to a joint statement.
Nutrix has been developed by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development, Copenhagen University and Danish Care Foods, in collaboration with the Cambodian government, the joint statement said.
At the launch of the Nutrix production site in Phnom Penh, the partners announced that the ready-to-use-therapeutic food will be produced at scale, to address malnutrition in children in Cambodia, it said.
Approximately 2.6 percent of children in Cambodia are diagnosed with severe acute malnutrition, the statement said, adding that to treat them, home-based ready-to-use therapeutic foods are prescribed as a treatment and without these, many children may need to be hospitalized.
Wivina Belmonte, UNICEF deputy regional director to East Asia and Pacific, said in East Asia and Pacific, over five million children under the age of five are affected by severe acute malnutrition annually, which is a major cause of death in children under five.
According to the statement, well-known ready-to-use therapeutic foods made with peanut and dairy are imported into Cambodia. However, ingredients in Nutrix are locally sourced which makes it 20 percent cheaper to produce.
"By using a product adapted to local taste and local preferences we can make a real impact on malnutrition in Cambodia," said Frank Wieringa from the French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development.
"This is important because besides the 2.6 percent of children with severe acute malnutrition, another 8 percent of children suffer moderate acute malnutrition in Cambodia, which is a staggering number," he said.
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-1 ... 680643.htm
Photo: UNICEF