K-Mix 2 is a high energy food used for the treatment of severe malnutrition. [1] It was developed by UNICEF in response to the Biafran War, [2] and was widely used in later famines in India and Africa.
It is a dry mix of
When made up, the 100 g K-Mix-2 is combined with 60 g of oil and 1 litre of water. [1]
Although extremely effective in the treatment of children too weak to feed themselves, [2] its high cost precludes it from being used in any but the most extreme cases. After the acute malnutrition has been treated, it is replaced with other foods. [3]
Kwashiorkor is a form of severe protein malnutrition characterized by edema and an enlarged liver with fatty infiltrates. It is thought to be caused by sufficient calorie intake, but with insufficient protein consumption, which distinguishes it from marasmus. Recent studies have found that a lack of antioxidant micronutrients such as β-carotene, lycopene, other carotenoids, and vitamin C as well as the presence of aflatoxins may play a role in the development of the disease. However, the exact cause of kwashiorkor is still unknown. Inadequate food supply is correlated with occurrences of kwashiorkor; occurrences in high income countries are rare. It occurs amongst weaning children to ages of about five years old.
Malnutrition occurs when an organism gets too few or too many nutrients, resulting in health problems. Specifically, it is a deficiency, excess, or imbalance of energy, protein and other nutrients which adversely affects the body's tissues and form.
Famine relief is an organized effort to reduce starvation in a region in which there is famine. A famine is a phenomenon in which a large proportion of the population of a region or country are so undernourished that death by starvation becomes increasingly common. In spite of the much greater technological and economic resources of the modern world, famine still strikes many parts of the world, mostly in the developing nations.
Spirulina is a biomass of cyanobacteria that can be consumed by humans and animals. The three species are Arthrospira platensis, A. fusiformis, and A. maxima.
The Mid Day Meal Scheme is a school meal programme in India designed to better the nutritional status of school-age children nationwide. The scheme has been renamed as PM-POSHAN Scheme. The programme supplies free lunches on working days for children in government primary and upper primary schools, government aided Anganwadis, Madarsa and Maqtabs. Serving 120 million children in over 1.27 million schools and Education Guarantee Scheme centres, the Midday Meal Scheme is the largest of its kind in the world.
Therapeutic foods are foods designed for specific, usually nutritional, therapeutic purposes as a form of dietary supplement. The primary examples of therapeutic foods are used for emergency feeding of malnourished children or to supplement the diets of persons with special nutrition requirements, such as the elderly.
Oral rehydration therapy (ORT) is a type of fluid replacement used to prevent and treat dehydration, especially due to diarrhea. It involves drinking water with modest amounts of sugar and salts, specifically sodium and potassium. Oral rehydration therapy can also be given by a nasogastric tube. Therapy can include the use of zinc supplements to reduce the duration of diarrhea in infants and children under the age of 5. Use of oral rehydration therapy has been estimated to decrease the risk of death from diarrhea by up to 93%.
Plumpy'Nut is a peanut-based paste in a plastic wrapper for treatment of severe acute malnutrition manufactured by Nutriset, a French company. Feeding with the 92-gram packets of this paste reduces the need for hospitalization. It can be administered at home, allowing more people to be treated.
The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) is an international agricultural research center founded in 1975 to improve the understanding of national agricultural and food policies to promote the adoption of innovations in agricultural technology. Additionally, IFPRI was meant to shed more light on the role of agricultural and rural development in the broader development pathway of a country. The mission of IFPRI is to provide research-based policy solutions that sustainably reduce poverty and end hunger and malnutrition.
India's population in 2021 as per World Bank is 1.39 billion. Being the world's most populous country and one of its fastest-growing economies, India experiences both challenges and opportunities in context of public health. India is a hub for pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries; world-class scientists, clinical trials and hospitals yet country faces daunting public health challenges like child undernutrition, high rates of neonatal and maternal mortality, growth in noncommunicable diseases, high rates of road traffic accidents and other health related issues.
Stunted growth, also known as stunting or linear growth failure, is defined as impaired growth and development manifested by low height-for-age. It is a primary manifestation of malnutrition and recurrent infections, such as diarrhea and helminthiasis, in early childhood and even before birth, due to malnutrition during fetal development brought on by a malnourished mother. The definition of stunting according to the World Health Organization (WHO) is for the "height-for-age" value to be less than two standard deviations of the median of WHO Child Growth Standards. Stunted growth is usually associated with poverty, unsanitary environmental conditions, maternal undernutrition, frequent illness, and/or inappropriate feeding practice and care during early years of life.
F-100 and F-75 are therapeutic milk products designed to treat severe malnutrition. The formula is used in therapeutic feeding centres where children are hospitalized for treatment. F-75 is considered the "starter" formula, and F-100 the "catch-up" formula. The designations mean that the product contains respectively 75 and 100 kcals per 100 ml. F-75 provides 75 kcal and 0.9 g protein per 100 mL, while F-100 provides 100 kcal and 2.9 g protein. Both are very high in energy, fat, and protein, and provide a large amount of nutrients. Ingredients include concentrated milk powder, food oil, and dextrin vitamin complexes. The formulas may be prepared by mixing with the local water supply. There are other variants like Low Lactose F-75 and Lactose Free F-75, which are used in case of persistent diarrhoea in severe acute malnutrition. F-75 may be cereal-based in place of milk.
Bird food or bird seed is food intended for consumption by wild, commercial, or pet birds. It is typically composed of seeds, nuts, dry fruits, flour, and may be enriched with vitamins and proteins.
Health care services in Nepal are provided by both public and private sectors and are generally regarded as failing to meet international standards. Prevalence of disease is significantly higher in Nepal than in other South Asian countries, especially in rural areas. Moreover, the country's topographical and sociological diversity results in periodic epidemics of infectious diseases, epizootics and natural hazards such as floods, forest fires, landslides, and earthquakes. But, recent surge in non-communicable diseases has emerged as the main public health concern and this accounts for more than two-thirds of total mortality in country. A large section of the population, particularly those living in rural poverty, are at risk of infection and mortality by communicable diseases, malnutrition and other health-related events. Nevertheless, some improvements in health care can be witnessed; most notably, there has been significant improvement in the field of maternal health. These improvements include:
Community Therapeutic Care is a new approach to dealing with acute malnutrition.
Despite India's 50% increase in GDP since 2013, more than one third of the world's malnourished children live in India. Among these, half of the children under three years old are underweight.
There were 795 million malnurished people in the world in 2014, an increase of 216 million since 1990, despite the fact that the world already produces enough food to feed everyone—7.951 billion people—and could feed more than that—12 billion people.
Citadel spread is a paste made of peanut butter, oil, sugar and milk powder. First developed as a trail food for hikers, a citadel spread resembles common ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) formulations, such as Plumpy'nut.
Undernutrition in children, occurs when children do not consume enough calories, protein, or micronutrients to maintain good health. It is common globally and may result in both short and long term irreversible adverse health outcomes. Undernutrition is sometimes used synonymously with malnutrition, however, malnutrition could mean both undernutrition or overnutrition. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that malnutrition accounts for 54 percent of child mortality worldwide, which is about 1 million children. Another estimate, also by WHO, states that childhood underweight is the cause for about 35% of all deaths of children under the age of five worldwide.
In the early months of 2017, parts of South Sudan experienced a famine following several years of instability in the country's food supply caused by war and drought. The famine, largely focused in the northern part of the country, affected an estimated five million people. In May 2017, the famine was officially declared to have weakened to a state of severe food insecurity.