Tsunami's silver lining seen for war on malnutrition<\/p>\n
Simon Gardner, Reuters, Colombo<\/p>\n
Asia's tsunami is likely to have worsened malnutrition around the
\nIndian Ocean's rim, but a massive drive to feed hundreds of
\nthousands of survivors may end up reducing it, the United
\nNations' food arm says.<\/p>\n
The World Food Program is feeding around 1.2 million tsunami-
\naffected people from Sumatra to Somalia, with the bulk of
\nrecipients in Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n
Executive Director James Morris is confident food aid is
\nreaching most people in need.<\/p>\n
\"I suspect (malnutrition is) marginally higher, but also there
\nwill be a more intense effort to see that every child is fed, so
\nit may affect it positively -- there may be some silver lining
\nhere,\" Morris told Reuters in an interview on Sunday.<\/p>\n
\"It's a very small silver lining. The problem is enormous, but
\nwe're very focused on seeing that everyone at risk here has a
\ncalorie diet of 2,100 calories per day, and that may be a little
\nmore than some ... have had traditionally in their diet.\"<\/p>\n
The UN agency is feeding around 750,000 people in Sri Lanka,
\nmany of whom lost everything when giant waves battered the
\nisland's southern, eastern and northern seaboard on Dec.26,
\nkilling around 31,000 people.<\/p>\n
Hundreds of thousands are depending on food handouts and
\nchildren are among the most vulnerable.<\/p>\n
\"The percentage of malnutrition among children here is very
\nhigh -- 35 percent in the general population -- and in places
\nwhere the poverty is greater, malnutrition among children goes
\nup, so it's a considerable problem,\" Morris said.<\/p>\n
The World Food Program's (WFP) food basket includes rice,
\nwheat flour, pulses, beans, legumes and vegetable oil. The agency
\nalso hands out high-protein biscuits and a high-energy blend of
\ncorn and soya.<\/p>\n
Morris is considering adding canned fish to the list, as many
\nSri Lankans are wary of eating fresh fish, a staple part of their
\ndiet, for fear they have scavenged on the remains of tsunami
\nvictims.<\/p>\n
\"There are no examples so far of serious, large numbers of
\npeople being affected by health problems,\" Morris said.<\/p>\n
The World Food Program was already feeding around 1 million
\nSri Lankans before the tsunami struck under other projects, so it
\nhad stocks in place and other food was made available on ships
\ndiverted by the United States and Japan.<\/p>\n
Morris toured the historic southern city of Galle on Saturday,
\nwhich was all but flattened by the tsunami save for a 17th
\ncentury Dutch fort, and said he was surprised and encouraged at
\nthe pace of the clean-up operation.<\/p>\n
The WFP is feeding between 300,000 to 400,000 people hit by
\nthe tsunami in Indonesia, between 25,000-50,000 people in the
\nremote Maldives island chain off the toe of India, around 15,000
\npeople in Myanmar and 20,000 people in Somalia.<\/p>\n
The tsunami killed more than 163,000 people, the vast majority
\nof them in Indonesia. Thousands more are missing.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/tsunamis-silver-lining-seen-for-war-on-malnutrition-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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