Transcript Sujit Saleepan ,Nutrition Division ,MOPH ,Thailand Welcome to

Sujit Saleepan ,Nutrition Division ,MOPH ,Thailand
Nutrition Security in South East Asia:
potential impact of climate change
Sujit Saleepan ,Nutrition Division ,MOPH ,Thailand
Food and Nutrition Security
The World Food Summit in 1996 defined food
security as a situation in which “all people, at all
times, have access to sufficient, safe and nutritious
food to meet their dietary needs and food
preferences for an active and healthy life”.
This definition goes beyond mere availability and
access to food and includes a whole lot of
prerequisites to promote optimal absorption and
utilisation of food including healthy environment,
and good eating practices. This definition also
defined the link between food, nutrition and health.
Many countries use the term ‘nutrition security’ to
denote this broader concept.
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Food
Food
Food
Food
availability: production, imports, aid
stability: seasonal fluctuations, stocks
access: prices, purchasing power
utilization: food safety, quality, nutrition
Climate change impacts all
aspects of food security
Reduced protein content in wheat (913%)
 Less iron content in wheat (8%)
 Higher lead content in wheat (14%)

Impact on nutritional quality
of food
Food and nutrition security
FAO has advocated the ‘AAA’ approach to
analyse food security –
Availability
(production
factors,
i.e.
agricultural production, its determinants and
availability to households);
Access (household and individual’s access to
food, hunger and factors determining it, i.e.
poverty and literacy levels, vulnerability of
populations); and
Absorption (ability to absorb food - health
conditions, availability of potable water and
sanitation).
Under-nutrition in pre-school children
Underweight Wasting Stunting
Bangladesh
46
16
36
Bhutan
19
3
40
India
46
19
38
Maldives
30
13
25
Nepal
45
12
43
Sri Lanka
29
14
14
Thailand
9
4
12
In spite of the fact that South East Asia is self-sufficient
in food production and relatively low poverty ratios,
stunting and underweight rates in South Asia is very
high – higher than SE Asia and equal to Sub-Saharan
Africa so called South Asian Enigma.
Infant and young child feeding habits
Exclusively
breastfed
complementary
food + BM
Still
breastfeeding at
< 6 months 6-9 months
20-23 months
Bangladesh
37
52
89
Bhutan
-
-
-
India
46
57
77
Maldives
10
85
-
Nepal
53
75
95
Sri Lanka
53
-
73
Thailand
5
43
19
Breast feeding is nearly universal in the region. Nearly half
the infants are not EBF upto 6 mth or given complementary
feeds at 6mth. Poor IYCF aggravate under-nutrition in
children. Climate change will not affect IYCF.
Correction of IYCF can improve under-nutrition in children.
% Population with HIV/AIDS
Countries
Adult
(15-41)
Youth
(15-24)
Males
Females
Males
Females
Bangladesh
-
-
-
-
Bhutan
-
0.1
0.1
<0.1
India
0.5
0.3
0.3
0.3
Maldives
-
-
-
-
Nepal
0.5
0.5
0.5
0.3
Sri Lanka
-
-
<0.1
-
Thailand
1.7
1.4
1.2
1.2
In most South Asian countries prevalence of HIV
infection is low; but number of persons with HIV related
nutrition problems is large. Contribution of HIV to undernutrition is low. Climate change will not affect HIV
prevalence or UN.
Interventions needed to improve nutrition
security during the era of climate change
Adequate food production (food grains) to prevent
hunger and under-nutrition: relatively easy because
this is a region self sufficient in food grain production.
Adequate
production
of
vegetables
through
horticultural intervention to ensure dietary diversity is
essential for prevention of micronutrient deficiencies:
this area requires increasing attention.
Fortification of salt with iodine and iron will help in
sustainable improvement in iron and iodine status.
If all the countries focus and work intensively, it
might be possible for the SE Asian countries to
achieve nutrition security in spite of the existing
problems and emerging problem of climate change.