Two-thirds of all children suffering from malnutrition are South Asians.

Around 336 million people are chronically hungry in South Asia, with one-third of all child deaths linked to malnutrition.

Issues such as the one mentioned above, were discussed by participants at the South Asian Regional Knowledge Forum on Tuesday to encourage the world community to provide innovative ideas and timely intervention to save the lives of around one billion children suffering from chronic hunger.

The two-day event titled ‘sharing lessons from community experiences and improving infant and young child nutrition’ was held in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, and was jointly organised by the World Bank, UN children’s fund and South Asia Food and Nutrition Security Initiatives (Safansi).

Participants from Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal highlighted how despite economic growth in the region, two thirds of all children suffering from malnutrition were South Asians. Akhtar Rashid, who was representing the government of Punjab, said that a mobile phone service had been launched in the province to mobilise the community and create awareness about breastfeeding.

“We have selected a few villages where SMS service has been started. The social mobilisers identify people on the field before sending them text messages,” said Rashid, adding that the service had proved to be a great success.

South Asia has the highest rate of malnutrition, making it the single largest cause of child mortality in the region. Underweight children account for over 33% in Afghanistan, 41% in Bangladesh, 43% in India, 39% in Nepal, 31% in Pakistan and 22% in Sri Lanka.

The host country, Nepal, received a Millennium Development Goal award on its commitment and progress towards attaining the maternal mortality rate (MMR), set by the United Nations.

“We have reduced the MMR from 415 deaths in 2000 to 229 deaths in 2010 per 100,000 live births,” said National Planning Commission chief Atma Ram Pandey.

Source: The Express Tribune

Visionary food

Besides getting fit and worry about staying healthy, have you thought about your eyes?

Your eyes are definitely a very important part of your body and you need to maintain excellent eyesight for years to come! If you are young it may be tempting to tell yourself that you won’t be old for a while — why worry about it now? However, the truth is starting now and applying the right tips will maintain your eyes for years to come. Your eyes most certainly deserve it.

So applying a few fundamental rules as well as discovering the right kind of food to eat to take care of your eyes is important. Only you have control of your diet and what food your body is taking in. So choose wisely and start eating the pertinent foods that will keep your eyesight excellent for years to come. Here are 10 foods that will help improve your eyes —

Spinach: Protect your eyes from eye diseases by eating spinach. Spinach contains a caratenoid, which is called lutein. This protects your eyes from macular degeneration and getting cataracts when you are older.

Garlic: Continue to improve your eyesight by implementing garlic. Garlic contains sulphur, which will make your lens resilient and stronger over time.

Apricots: Start eating more apricots because they have lots of vitamin A, which helps restore your eyes after they’ve been affected by free radicals. You’ll also find caretenoids in apricots, which will help improve your vision.

Carrots: You’ve probably heard a lot about carrots and the reason why they are great for your eyes! Containing a lot of vitamin A and the antioxidant beta carotene, carrots are excellent for your eye health. They also help prevent blindness!

Eggs: This is another type of food that’s very good for your eyes. Eggs have great vitamins and they also contain sulphur, lecithin, amino acids, and more. These all will help prevent eye problems such as cataracts later in life.

Soy: Do you like soy milk? If you do you’re in luck because soy contains vitamin E, natural anti-inflammatory agents, and other great vitamins. Besides, soy milk soy can be found in other products such as beans, yogurt, and other food items too.

Dark chocolate: If you have a sweet tooth you are in luck! There’s one delicious dessert that will help your eyes. Dark chocolate contains flavanoids and this will help protect the blood vessels in your eyes. So help your lens and cornea stay in great shape by occasionally eating dark chocolate. You can eat it guilt free knowing you’re doing your eyes good!

So now that you have a great list of food items that will help your eyesight and overall eye health, head to the grocery store and stock up on these key food items.Your eye health is very important because you need to see well without having problems. 

So take your eyesight seriously and start eating foods that will help improve your eyes. — Agencies

Source: The Himalaya Times