MDGIF, Cambodia
Levels of maternal and child under-nutrition are considerably high in Cambodia. Poverty, food insecurity, inadequate knowledge and poor nutrition and feeding practices are the main causes of malnutrition among women and children in the country.
The Cambodia Anthropometrics Survey in 2008 showed that 39.5 percent of children below the age of five were chronically malnourished, 28.8 percent were underweight and 8.9 percent were acutely malnourished. Some of these statistics indicate stagnation, even reversal, in progress made in recent years.
Malnutrition is an important contributing factor for high maternal and child mortality rates in the country. Despite good progress over the last few years in reducing the number of child deaths, Cambodia has one of the highest child mortality rates in the region. The national under-five mortality rate of 83 per 1000 live births equates to more than 30,000 deaths per year among children below the age of five.
In addition to mortality, poor nutrition prevents children from developing to their full potential and leads to reduced cognitive ability in adult life.
While there have been some improvements in the nutritional status of women and children over the last decade, progress has been slow and under-nutrition remains a barrier to realizing children’s rights and achieving equity and economic development in Cambodia.
The Joint Programme includes nationwide comprehensive behaviour change communications for breastfeeding, complementary feeding and iron/folic acid supplementation for pregnant and postpartum women, and an integrated and comprehensive package of nutrition and food security interventions.
The Joint Programme for Children, Food Security and Nutrition will be implemented jointly by government agencies: the Council for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD), the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport, the Ministry of Information, and UN Agencies: United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), World Health Organization (WHO), World Food Programme (WFP), Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the International Labour Organization (ILO) and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).
