Jornal Diario Nacional - Friday, February
1, 2013 - Translated from Tetum
According to statistics from the UN agency
and UNICEF, malnutrition in Timor-Leste has risen to 58 percent. These figures
show that Timor-Leste is in third place among Asian countries, where the
majority of the population lives "inside" malnutrition.
The representative of UNICEF, Honggwel Gao
said that health and nutrition are key factors for the growth of children and
are also important for human development in the nation.
The prevalence of malnutrition among
mothers and children, including micro nutrition deficiency is quite high in
Timor-Leste, based on data from a survey conducted on health and demography
between 2009 and 2010.
Six out of ten children (or 58%) are stunted
and suffer from malnutrition, whilst 19 percent of children are severely
affected by malnutrition and underweight and 45 percent of children do not
reach their ideal weight.
The deputy prime minister, Fernando La Sama
de Araújo admitted that malnutrition remains a major problem for Timor-Leste,
because many children aged under five have skinny arms and legs and dry bloated
bellies.
"I call the attention of the Health
Minister Sergio Lobo, his two deputies and even the directors and employees in
the Ministry of Health to this, and for them to work harder to prevent and
reduce the percentage of malnutrition in Timor-Leste," said Fernando La Sama
on last Wednesday, during his opening speech to the meeting on validation and
strategic review on nutrition held at the Hotel Timor in Dili.
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