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US to Supply Healthier Food to World's Hungry

   Focus is on proper nutrition for the 1st 1,000 days of life

   Steve Baragona | Washington, D.C.  April 27, 2011
   A Bangladeshi man receives food aid from USAID following Cyclone Sidr
   in 2007.

Photo: Sue McIntyre/USAID

   A Bangladeshi man receives food aid from USAID following Cyclone Sidr
   in 2007.

   Recommendations for making U.S. food aid more nutritious call for
   significant changes in the content of foods the United States delivers
   to the world's hungry.
   The United States is the world's largest supplier of food aid, reaching
   55 million people in 46 countries last year, according to the[1] U.S.
   Agency for International Development (USAID).
   That assistance has saved millions of lives over the years. But
   something has been missing, says Tufts University's Patrick Webb.
   "There was a bit of an impression that as long as you delivered food,
   that was enough. And really, what we have been arguing and
   demonstrating is that, no, just any old food isn't enough."

   Webb says that's especially true for young children. In the new report
   commissioned by USAID which was released Tuesday in Washington, Webb
   and his colleagues note that malnutrition during the first 1,000 days
   of life -- from the womb to age two -- can cause irreparable damage to
   a child's growth and brain development. That in turn impacts a child's
   ability to learn and ultimately lowers national productivity.
   The report recommends more nutritious foods for children under two and
   pregnant women.
   USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah says the report may lead to significant
   changes. "We'll look specifically into the recommendations into how to
   get more animal protein into foods so kids don't just get calories, but
   get the nutrition they need for brain development and human growth."
   A man receives 50 kilograms of US sorghum in southern Ethiopia during
   2010.

USAID

   A man receives 50 kilograms of US sorghum in southern Ethiopia during
   2010.

   The report also recommends improving the vitamin and mineral content of
   grains and oils. Those are relatively easy fixes that may reach
   beneficiaries this year. But adding animal protein to food targeted for
   young children is more difficult to accomplish.
   "Unfortunately, there are manufacturing challenges that come to bear,
   looking at things like shelf life as well as cost," says Stephen Moody,
   USAID food technology expert.
   Critics of the report say it focuses too much on cost. They say USAID
   should back more nutritious, but more expensive, ready-to-use foods.
   USAID officials say they are already seeing benefits in programs that
   are currently following the recommendations. They say within a year
   other programs will start to see changes that will fight malnutrition
   more effectively among some of the world's most vulnerable people.

References

   1. http://www.usaid.gov/

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