Quality of Nutrition

SUSAN SHEPHERD has an OpEd on nutrition the NYTimes

WE have all seen the pictures on television and in magazines of emaciated children looking at us with gaunt faces and empty eyes. The images are moving and disturbing, but if they do not lead to an effective response, they are used in vain.

Malnutrition can be fatal. Every year, it contributes to the death of five million children under the age of 5.

Writing about her experience in Niger with use of nutrient-dense foods:

I recently spent a year running a nutritional program in Niger, where, along with other parts of Africa and South Asia, the most cases of childhood malnutrition are found. While there, I became convinced that large numbers of deaths among acutely malnourished children can be prevented by using an innovative nutrient-dense ready-to-use food that is revolutionizing the treatment and prevention of acute malnutrition.

It turned out to be a very successful effort. In 2006, her colleagues at Doctors Without Borders treated more than 150,000 malnourished children worldwide — and in Niger, more than 9 out of 10 recovered.