When Melinda and Bill Gates give talks, Melinda talks about proper nutrition and its role in raising up third world societies, Science is on her side:
"The gut has 100 million neurons and it is connected to our nervous system. When the gut is not working well, it affects the brain's cognitive capabilities."
Source: blog.aboutmybrain.com
In This Page
THE CHALLENGE
THE OPPORTUNITY
OUR STRATEGY
AREAS OF FOCUS
A mother in Bangladesh feeding her child solid food to complement breastfeeding. (Photo © Alive & Thrive/AV Com)
OUR GOAL: to ensure that all children have the nutrition they need for a healthy start in life.
The Challenge
"The gut has 100 million neurons and it is connected to our nervous system. When the gut is not working well, it affects the brain's cognitive capabilities."
Source: blog.aboutmybrain.com
In This Page
THE CHALLENGE
THE OPPORTUNITY
OUR STRATEGY
AREAS OF FOCUS
OUR GOAL: to ensure that all children have the nutrition they need for a healthy start in life.
The Challenge
Millions of children, mostly in developing countries, die each year or suffer permanent physical or mental impairments because they lack good nutrition during the critical 1,000-day period between conception and age 2.
One in four child deaths could be prevented by scaling up proven nutrition interventions.
Our Nutrition program focuses on delivering proven interventions and creating new tools and strategies to ensure that pregnant women and young children receive the nutrition they need for healthy growth and development.
Nutrition-related factors account for about 35 percent of the deaths of children under age 5. Among undernourished children who survive, about one-third suffer from stunted growth, which often impedes neurodevelopment and learning, and ultimately the ability to work and earn a living.
In pregnant women, undernutrition increases the chances of dying due to pregnancy complications and of delivering an underweight baby.
Children who are born underweight are at risk of suffering from acute infectious diseases as well as chronic diseases and physical and cognitive impairments.
The result is a vicious cycle in which succeeding generations of poor people are vulnerable to death, disease, cognitive impairment, reduced productivity due to undernutrition, and continuing poverty.
Most undernourished people live in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. Ten countries in those regions account for two-thirds of the world’s growth-stunted children.
But even in those countries, most of the people affected by undernutrition do not show symptoms of extreme hunger or starvation.
This crisis of “hidden hunger” is invisible to some policymakers, which means that national nutrition programs are often underfunded.
Other challenges that contribute to undernutrition include:
- inconsistent access to sufficient, safe, nutritious food;
- low agricultural productivity;
- effects of climate change;
- poor sanitation and hygiene, and
- lack of awareness and understanding of healthy diets among those most at risk of undernutrition.
The Opportunity
Promoting better breastfeeding practices, expanding access to nutritious foods for children from 6 to 24 months of age, and ensuring that women and children get sufficient amounts of key vitamins and minerals are proven strategies that can substantially reduce child mortality and nutrition-related problems.
Our Strategy
At the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, our nutrition efforts focus on delivering proven interventions and developing better tools and strategies for providing pregnant women and young children with the foods and nutrients they need.
We focus on regions of Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia where the burden of undernutrition is greatest.
A new sweet potato variety that is rich in vitamin A is now widely available in eastern and southern Africa.
Areas of Focus
Promoting Healthy Growth
Proper nutrition from birth to age 2 is critical to a child’s growth and development and lifelong health. (Photo © Alive & Thrive/Tina Sanghvi)
Improving Breastfeeding Practices
Addressing Micro-nutrient Deficiencies
A women’s self-help group in a remote region of Rajasthan, India, produces fortified foods for distribution to mothers and young children. (Photo © Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition)
Advocating for Better Nutrition Funding and Policies
Learn More
OPTIMIZING NUTRITION OUTCOMES FROM INVESTMENTS IN AGRICULTURE
Source: http://www.gatesfoundation.org/What-We-Do/Global-Development/Nutrition
One in four child deaths could be prevented by scaling up proven nutrition interventions.
Our Nutrition program focuses on delivering proven interventions and creating new tools and strategies to ensure that pregnant women and young children receive the nutrition they need for healthy growth and development.
Nutrition-related factors account for about 35 percent of the deaths of children under age 5. Among undernourished children who survive, about one-third suffer from stunted growth, which often impedes neurodevelopment and learning, and ultimately the ability to work and earn a living.
In pregnant women, undernutrition increases the chances of dying due to pregnancy complications and of delivering an underweight baby.
Children who are born underweight are at risk of suffering from acute infectious diseases as well as chronic diseases and physical and cognitive impairments.
The result is a vicious cycle in which succeeding generations of poor people are vulnerable to death, disease, cognitive impairment, reduced productivity due to undernutrition, and continuing poverty.
Most undernourished people live in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. Ten countries in those regions account for two-thirds of the world’s growth-stunted children.
But even in those countries, most of the people affected by undernutrition do not show symptoms of extreme hunger or starvation.
This crisis of “hidden hunger” is invisible to some policymakers, which means that national nutrition programs are often underfunded.
Other challenges that contribute to undernutrition include:
- inconsistent access to sufficient, safe, nutritious food;
- low agricultural productivity;
- effects of climate change;
- poor sanitation and hygiene, and
- lack of awareness and understanding of healthy diets among those most at risk of undernutrition.
The Opportunity
Promoting better breastfeeding practices, expanding access to nutritious foods for children from 6 to 24 months of age, and ensuring that women and children get sufficient amounts of key vitamins and minerals are proven strategies that can substantially reduce child mortality and nutrition-related problems.
Our Strategy
At the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, our nutrition efforts focus on delivering proven interventions and developing better tools and strategies for providing pregnant women and young children with the foods and nutrients they need.
We focus on regions of Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia where the burden of undernutrition is greatest.
Areas of Focus
Promoting Healthy Growth
Improving Breastfeeding Practices
A woman breastfeeding her baby in Dowa, Malawi.
Addressing Micro-nutrient Deficiencies
Advocating for Better Nutrition Funding and Policies
Learn More
OPTIMIZING NUTRITION OUTCOMES FROM INVESTMENTS IN AGRICULTURE
Source: http://www.gatesfoundation.org/What-We-Do/Global-Development/Nutrition
No comments:
Post a Comment