Bolstering nutrition interventions for 17,000 refugee children in Bangladesh

Cox’s Bazar, 16 November 2017 – To bolster nutrition interventions for Rohingya children and provide immediate support to around 17,000 under five children currently suffering from severe acute malnutrition (SAM), UNICEF along with government and other sectoral partners launched Nutrition Action Week.

The Nutrition Action Week is an effort to propel the nutrition interventions in the backdrop of a recent downslide in the nutrition status of Rohingya children.

The preliminary findings of a nutrition assessment conducted at Kutupalong refugee camp last month showed a 7.5 per cent prevalence of life-threatening severe acute malnutrition – a rate double to what was witnessed among Rohingya child refugees in May 2017.

The Nutrition Action Week will bring together all nutrition sector partners to prevent further worsening of nutritional status through increased uptake of critical nutrition interventions.

The State Minister for Health and Family Welfare Zahid Maleque said that “nutrition is the right of every child. The Government of Bangladesh along with development partners including UNICEF will do everything possible to ensure that the Rohingya children get the required nutrition support.”

At present, the government, UNICEF and partners are jointly providing nutrition support and treating over 6500 acutely malnourished children through 30 outpatient nutrition treatment centres and four stablisation centres.

The Nutrition Action Week interventions are taking place in the registered camps, makeshift and new settlements to speed up coverage of nutrition services through 70 teams consisting of 560 members in 70 distribution sites across the settlements.

“The coming together of all the partners in the nutrition sector to scale up immediate response will bring much needed support for the Rohingya children as well as children from the host community,” said Edouard Beigbeder, Representative, UNICEF Bangladesh.

During this weeklong exercise, at least 80 per cent of 176,756 children aged 06-59 months will be given vitamin A capsules, 80 per cent of 118,427 children aged 24-59 months will be provided deworming tablets, 176,756 children aged 06-59 months will undergo nutrition screening and malnourished children will be referred for nutrition treatment programmes. Information on important breastfeeding practices and appropriate feeding practices will also be given to the mothers.

About UNICEF

UNICEF promotes the rights and wellbeing of every child, in everything we do. Together with our partners, we work in 190 countries and territories to translate that commitment into practical action, focusing special effort on reaching the most vulnerable and excluded children, to the benefit of all children, everywhere.

For more information about UNICEF and its work for children visit www.unicef.org.bd.

For the latest available data on children visit data.unicef.org.

For further information please contact:

Faria Selim
UNICEF Bangladesh
Tel:(880-2) 8852266 ext. 7025
Cell: +8801817586096
Email: [email protected]

Iftikhar Ahmed Chowdhury
UNICEF Bangladesh
Tel:(880-2) 8852266 ext. 7028
Cell: +880 1711595045 email: [email protected]