Unicef: Millions Of Thai Children Suffer Malnutrition

[george]

UNICEF: millions of Thai children suffer malnutrition

BANGKOK: -- Local administration agencies should play more active roles in resolving the malnutrition problem in millions of Thai children, a senior official of United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Thailand office said on Friday.

Andrew Morris, deputy representative of UNICEF Thailand, made his statement at a meeting co-organised by the Thai government's Local Administration Department. The purpose of the meeting was to create networks among provincial officials to protect children's rights and to ensure a better quality of life for them.

Ten per cent of Thai children aged under five are underweight, Mr. Morris said, and only 55 per cent of Thai families have a access to iodized salt.

Only five per cent of Thai babies are breast-fed until the age of six months. In fact, Thailand is among the countries with lowest rate of breast-feeding. The resultant malnutrition leads to brain and physical defective development among the children.

To solve this problem, local administration agencies should play more active roles, Mr. Morris advised, because they are closest to the children.

--TNA 2007-07-06

[seonai]

This is indeed sad news. When I worked for UNICEF years ago in Bkk the levels of breastfeeding were quite good I remember and there was iodine added to all nam pla - unless I'm remembering wrong????

[bkkmadness]

Is there a particular reason why the Thais don't breastfeed? Seems a bit odd in a country like this.

[thaigerd]

Is there a particular reason why the Thais don't breastfeed? Seems a bit odd in a country like this.

Many of the kids are raised by the grandmothers cause mother must go back for work, my guess.

Gerd

[Mid]

‘Decline in breastfeeding linked to child deaths in Asia’

MANILA: About 160,000 infants die each year in the Asia-Pacific region due to a decline in breastfeeding, a Unicef expert told a regional conference on Wednesday.

snip

The rate of exclusive breastfeeding of babies six months old varied widely in the region with Thailand at 5.4 per cent and North Korea at 65.1 per cent, the WHO said in a statement.

The WHO said an increase in breastfeeding in Cambodia had contributed to a sharp fall in child mortality.

thenews.com

[Khun Jean]

Is there a particular reason why the Thais don't breastfeed? Seems a bit odd in a country like this.

Commercials!

And it is EASY!

I had to convince my wife that breastfeeding is much better.

Furtunately enough information to support that, fur us easy to find, but not easy to find when you are working the ricefields.

Edited July 6, 2007 by Khun Jean

[bkkmadness]

I don't go with Thagerd's theory because alot of mums are with their kids all the time, though I suppose that's gotta account for a fair few people.

Commercials I understand totally, I assume there's a lot of them selling some crap product that people don't need and the Thai's can be gullible for them.

Still a bit surprising though, I thought it was common knowledge round the world that breast milk is the best food for a baby.

[seonai]

In my UN days one of the big projects UNICEF was fighting was Nestle - they were hitting the mothers with free powdered milk while they were still in hospital after giving birth and telling mothers that it was better for the baby and that the mum would keep her boobs shape better etc etc etc. Good reason to boycott Nestle products - they do this all over the world

[tayto]

Another slight problem is the misappropriation of funds made available for this and many other problems.

[esbobes]

In my UN days one of the big projects UNICEF was fighting was Nestle - they were hitting the mothers with free powdered milk while they were still in hospital after giving birth and telling mothers that it was better for the baby and that the mum would keep her boobs shape better etc etc etc. Good reason to boycott Nestle products - they do this all over the world

Thanks for fighting with Nestle's You must be brave going against that big terrible United States Company.

The UN should investigate that terrible America Company.

[toasted]

Buy an English football team, or use the money for good in my own country? Hmmmmm.

[Erwin1011]

In my UN days one of the big projects UNICEF was fighting was Nestle - they were hitting the mothers with free powdered milk while they were still in hospital after giving birth and telling mothers that it was better for the baby and that the mum would keep her boobs shape better etc etc etc. Good reason to boycott Nestle products - they do this all over the world

Thanks for fighting with Nestle's You must be brave going against that big terrible United States Company.

The UN should investigate that terrible America Company.

Nestle happens to be a Swiss company. Unless apparently you seem to know more...

[astral]

In my UN days one of the big projects UNICEF was fighting was Nestle - they were hitting the mothers with free powdered milk while they were still in hospital after giving birth and telling mothers that it was better for the baby and that the mum would keep her boobs shape better etc etc etc. Good reason to boycott Nestle products - they do this all over the world

Not just limited to Thailand.

This was going on in Malaysia as well, some 17 years ago.

[geriatrickid]

Another empty statement from UNICEF. I consider this announcement to be an attempt to grab some attention. It provides nothing of substance. I doubt that public health providers or the government are going to take it seriously.

I'd love to know on what basis this fellow is making his statement, because it doesn't match the published World Health Organization data or information from the Ministry of Health

Malnutrition is a problem in Thailand but it is not as severe as it is made out to be. It can easily be argued that Thailand's overall population is better nourished than the USA. The CDC states that almost 14% of children aged 2-5 and 19% aged 6-11 suffer from malnutrition because they are overweight or obese. (Sorry folks, but malnutrition also occurs when there is caloric excess and nutrient disproportion.) Thailand doesn't need some useless paper pusher coming in to offer up sloganeering.

Iodine deficiency disorder is a serious issue in all of SE Asia particularly in flood-prone areas, where the water washes away iodine (naturally) found in the soil. Thailand's incidence of IDD follows that of other SE asian nations. If the problem was as severe as stated, there would be a corresponding increase in reported cases of retardation, goiter, cretinism, deaf mutism and spastic diplegia. My reading of the numbers indicates that the reported cases (per person) is either stable or declining. Hmmm I wonder if this fellow is looking for a new grant from the government.

Has this mouthpiece forgotten that Thailand is currently in the midst of an HIV epidemic? HIV is well advanced in the heterosexual population, particularly females that are child bearing. The recommended practice is that HIV+ women should not breastfeed. The WHO sums up the general consensus; "the longer the HIV-infected mother breastfeeds, the greater the additional risk of transmission through breastfeeding. Where breastfeeding is common and prolonged, transmission through breastfeeding may account for up to half of HIV infections in infants and young children."

Infected women have been told not to breastfeed. While the message appears to have been absorbed by all mothers able to nurse, I doubt this gave rise to the unbelievable value of 5%.

If UNICEF really wants to make a difference it should give up 10% of its bloated administration budget and stop its bureaucrats from flying in First class and staying in posh hotels. It could then take the savings and give it to Doctors Without Borders (MSF). At least the MSF, can deliver services efficiently without an expensive bureacracy and without the political BS.

Edited July 6, 2007 by geriatrickid

[chownah]

Only five per cent of Thai babies are breast-fed until the age of six months. In fact, Thailand is among the countries with lowest rate of breast-feeding. The resultant malnutrition leads to brain and physical defective development among the children.

Are they suggesting that if a baby is not breast fed then they are to be classified as malnourished? I really think that this is inappropriate. I think that breast feeding is best but that adequate nutrition can be provided for babies without breast feeding as evidenced by the many happy and healthy children that are raised without breast feeding.

And please note that I have clearly stated that I think that breast feeding is best.

Chownah

[PETERTHEEATER]

This is indeed sad news. When I worked for UNICEF years ago in Bkk the levels of breastfeeding were quite good I remember and there was iodine added to all nam pla - unless I'm remembering wrong????

Iodised salt is preferred to the non-iodine version because the iodine prevents thyroid disorders such as goitre. However, you are correct, anchovy fish sauce (nahm bplah) used by just about every Thai family naturally includes iodine from the fish process. Implying that only 55% of Thais have access to iodised salt implies that 45% do not have adequate iodine in their diets when, in fact, most do from the nahm bplah consumption.

Notwithstanding that statement, I have seen many Thais, particularly in Isaan region, who have goitres - enlarged thyroids - to the point that they are disfigured. The soil in Isaan region is very low in natural iodine content, consequently, produce such as vegetables and fruit have insufficient iodine to sustain health and it must be taken as a supplement usually though fish sauce or iodised salt used to season food.

[chownah]

only 55 per cent of Thai families have a access to iodized salt.

I find this hard to believe....why don't they have access to iodized salt? It costs a few baht and I believe it is sold in all major retail outlets isn't it? My guess is that this statement is incorrect and they actually do have access to iodized salt but that they don't understand the need for it. I could be wrong and will be happy if someone would come explain how it can be that almost half of Thai families don't have access to iodized salt.

[Mid]

I could be wrong and will be happy if someone would come explain how it can be that almost half of Thai families don't have access to iodized salt.

just tossing this in , no idea how much it's a factor ,

is it not more expensive ??

[Big A]

Buy an English football team, or use the money for good in my own country? Hmmmmm.

^^

Spot on!! If Toxin so loves Thailand and its people, to build a few hospitals and a new subway line out of his own pocket would put him in a much better light when he returns. But I suppose the richer you are, the greedier you get.

[jbsears]

In my UN days one of the big projects UNICEF was fighting was Nestle - they were hitting the mothers with free powdered milk while they were still in hospital after giving birth and telling mothers that it was better for the baby and that the mum would keep her boobs shape better etc etc etc. Good reason to boycott Nestle products - they do this all over the world

Thanks for fighting with Nestle's You must be brave going against that big terrible United States Company.

The UN should investigate that terrible America Company.

Since when did Nestle become an American company?

[slapout]

This is another figure which I question." Millions of Thai children are underweight" other international reports say 28% of Thai's are obese, but this is qualified by area, age, sex etc. etc. and other disclaimers which makes the numbers and statements put out in the press hard to contest by the general public. I know all of these people are in a fish bowl to raise government or private funds for their area of expertise. but it would be nice for once to get real numbers, how they were arrived at, and compaired to other surveys. I have a hard time believing only 55% of Thai's have access to iodized salt as every village I have been in had peanuts which were covered in salt from a shaker which was represented as iodized on the packet, maybe these experts should go out into the real world instead of setting on their a.. in the friendly areas of Bangkok, or where ever.

[chownah]

I could be wrong and will be happy if someone would come explain how it can be that almost half of Thai families don't have access to iodized salt.

just tossing this in , no idea how much it's a factor ,

is it not more expensive ??

It is really cheap, my recollection is that it is about the same price as uniodized salt...my wife estimates that it would cost 10 baht per month if used for all cooking but I think she is overestimating but I could be wrong....remember the original post is claiming that 45% of Thai people don't have access to iodized salt....that's almost HALF of the population. It seems to me that the poorest half of the population can mostly afford to drink illegal whisky from time to time etc. etc....I really can't believe that almost HALF of the population can't afford iodized salt.....even if the claim had been 5% of the population I would wonder if it was correct...but I don't really know for sure.

[esbobes]

Thanks for fighting with Nestle's You must be brave going against that big terrible United States Company.

The UN should investigate that terrible America Company.

Nestle happens to be a Swiss company. Unless apparently you seem to know more...

Why does everyone bad mouth America if the Swiss Company Nestie's is killing more babies than the Americans kill in Iraq.

I think we should worry more about little children. We should all boycott Nestie's if we like little babies.

[geriatrickid]

As a side note to my earlier post about why some women are discouraged from breastfeeding, there is a higher than normal incidence of tuberculosis in some parts of northern Thailand. This is a zone where birthrates are higher than the Thai average. Women with active TB are specifically instructed not to breastfeed. Combine all the health warnings and you get the conflicting messages. The attempt to control some illnesses has an unintended impact on another healthy activity. From a health economics perspective, the cost of not breast feeding is less than breast feeding in high risk areas. Maybe if Unicef took 5 minutes to have a look at the MoH disease reporting map for HIV and TB and then corelated it to where there are births it would understand why no one is running around in the hotspots encouraging the practice.

Statements from Unicef like this annoy the heck out of public health officers.There is no dispute that breastfeeding is the best option, but in many cases, there is no alternative but the formula option.

[Kimera]

Is there a particular reason why the Thais don't breastfeed? Seems a bit odd in a country like this.

Good question considering the sometimes difficulty of obtaining any good milk, and the cost and the problem locating of the powdered baby milk.

[thaigene2]

In my UN days one of the big projects UNICEF was fighting was Nestle - they were hitting the mothers with free powdered milk while they were still in hospital after giving birth and telling mothers that it was better for the baby and that the mum would keep her boobs shape better etc etc etc. Good reason to boycott Nestle products - they do this all over the world

Thanks for fighting with Nestle's You must be brave going against that big terrible United States Company.

The UN should investigate that terrible America Company.

It's a Swiss company actually.

But it's absolutely correct to say that hospitals that allow and even PROMOTE infant formulas need to examine their ethics - if they have any (most are private).

It's all about advertising. My Thai wife did a good job of BF - up to eight or nine months with each of our kids I recall. Still, she then wanted to keep them on formula til the age of THREE! I had to argue and get the doctor to back me up. Once he did that, and explained that after one year they should make the shift to cow's milk she relented.