International Organisations for Nutrition

International Organisations

Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO)

The Food and Agricultural Organisation

came into existence in October 1945 with a mandate to raise levels of nutrition and standards of living, to improve agricultural productivity, and to better the conditions of rural population. By seeking to improve nutrition through nutrition-sensitive agriculture and food based approaches.

The Nutrition Division aims to:

·         Create sustainable im provements in nutrition, especially among nutritionally  vulnerable households and population groups.

·         Provide information, assessments and analysis to combat hunger and reduce all forms of malnutrition.

·         Assist countries in identifying people who are insecure and vulnerable to nutritional problems.

Besides promoting food production and food security, one of the aims of FAO is to create a world, in which all children can grow, learn and flourish, developing into healthy, active and caring members of society.

World Health Organisation (WHO)

World Health Organisation is an agency of the United Nations. The organization came into function on 7^th April 1948 which is celebrated as World Health Day. The most important objective that WHO seeks is the attainment of the most optimum level of the health of the people which would enable them to lead a socially, economically and mentally productive life.

WHO seeks to:

·         Act as a directing and coordinating authority on in ternational health activities.

·         Collobarate the member states and other agencies in planning and carrying out health programmes.

·         Prompt medical research and improve the under developed countries.

·         Bring the health status to international level.

·         Keep communicable diseases under constant surveillance, to give knowledge about health.

·         Set certain standards for the quality control of drugs, vaccines and other detrimental substances to the well being.

The WHO guidelines on Nutrition are as follows:

·         Baby friendly Hospital initiative.

·         Calcium supplementation in pregnant women.

·         Consultation on the Dietary management of moderate malnutrition in under 5 children.

·         Daily iron and folic acid supplementation in pregnant women.

·         Interventions on diet and physical activity.

·         Use of multiple micronutrient powders for home fortification of foods consumed by infants and children 6-23 months of age.

·         Vitamin A supplementation for infants 1-5 months of age.

·         Vitamin A supplementation for infants and children 6-59 months of age.

·         Vitamin A supplementation for postpartum women.

·         Vitamin A supplementation in pregnant women.

·         Weekly Iron- Folic acid Supplementation (WIFS) in women of reproductive age.

United Nations International Children’s Fund (UNICEF)

United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) was created at the end of World War II in 1946 to relieve the suffering of children in war torn Europe and for the past 70 years UNICEF has  strived to   improve   the  lives of children and their families throughout the world. UNICEF’s nutritional priorities include:

·         Infant and Child feeding.

·         Delivering vital micro-nutrients.

·         Promoting maternal nutrition/ preventing low birth weight.

·         Monitoring infant growth rates.

·         Providing nutrition in emergencies.

·         Preventing death from starvation and disease.

·         Supporting community based programmes.

Education is the key to opportunities and UNICEF believes that quality education is a right for all children, whether in the developing world or amidst conflict and crisis. UNICEF believes that all children have a right to survive, thrive and fulfill their potential to the benefit of a better world.