5 December 2007
Addis Ababa — The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) said on Monday its Targeted Supplementary Food (TSF) Programme assisting malnourished children and pregnant and nursing women, is facing serious funding shortfalls that could lead to increased risk of maternal and child deaths.
In a statement the UN agency said it was seeking urgent contributions from donors to the value of US$9.7million to help purchase 14,000 metric tons of fortified blended food and fortified vegetable oil.
It said it needs the money to ensure all vulnerable children and women, identified through the programme's screening exercise as malnourished, receive the necessary food supplements in the first quarter of 2008.
In the first half of 2007, the TSF programme assisted some 664,000 malnourished children and pregnant mothers.
"The TSF programme has clearly demonstrated positive impact," said Mohamed Diab, WFP Country Director in Ethiopia, "and we remain confident that our donors and partners will come to our assistance with pledges and contributions as they have done in the past." The Targeted Supplementary Food Programme supports the Ethiopian Ministry of health's Child Survival Initiative, and is based on nutritional screening under the joint WFP/UNICEF Extended Outreach Strategy (EOS)/child Survival Initiative.
"Our biggest worry is that with screening exercises underway, additional cases of malnourished children and women will be identified, and we will not have the resources to assist them," Diab remarked. "It is critical that once children and women have been identified as malnutrition that food supplements are provided as early as possible." A performance Study undertaken for the TSF in three regions in July/August 2007 and covering 900 children showed that 61% of those children recovered in the six month period between the EOS screening and after receiving prompt food supplementation.
The Performance Study clearly indicating that timely food supplementation has life saving potential for malnourished children.
Under the Targeted Supplementary Food Programme, mothers also receive basic nutrition education n how best to use the food, and on the importance of exclusive breastfeeding in the early months after birth.
In the first six months of 2007, 29,669 metric tons of nutritious food was provided by WFP and her parents to TSF programme beneficiaries.
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