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IAEA
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UN
Atomic Energy Agency Combats Malnutrition
BY
CLIVE BANERJEE 
VIENNA
(IDN) – More than six million children in developing lands die of
malnutrition every year. Keen to remedy this unacceptable situation, a
United Nations agency has started an ambitious project.
The venture launched by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) --
better known as the UN’s nuclear watchdog -- aims at improving the
nutrition of infants and young children who are extremely susceptible to
infectious diseases such as malaria and tuberculosis.
Scientists have found out that malnourished children are more vulnerable
to infection; infections on the other hand exacerbate their
malnourishment, resulting in a lethal, vicious cycle that leads to an
unacceptably high death toll.
Malnutrition is caused by lack of vitally important micronutrients, like
vitamin A, iron and zinc in children’s diets -- a deficiency that
adversely affects children’s psychomotor and mental development. It
also causes blindness and increases the risk of illness, stunted growth
and death.
The adverse effects of malnutrition are felt far beyond individual
development. Malnutrition perpetuates national and regional poverty.
MICRONUTRIENTS
As part of its mandate to encourage use of nuclear science and
technology, IAEA has launched an international project to improve the
nutrition of infants and young children by applying state-of-the-art
“stable isotope” methods to evaluate the absorption of
micronutrients such as iron and zinc or to assess body composition and
vitamin A reserves.
Isotopes are different types of atoms. Some isotopes are radioactive and
are therefore described as radioisotopes, while others have never been
observed to undergo radioactive decay and are described as stable
isotopes.
Micronutrients are nutrients that are needed throughout life in small
quantities. They are dietary minerals needed by the human body in very
small quantities -- generally less than 100micrograms a day.
”IAEA’s support . . . is extremely important," says Nancy
Krebs, Professor of Paediatrics at the University of Colorado-Denver´s
School of Medicine. The atomic energy agency deploys specialised
techniques that not many researchers use,
"It’s one thing to give infants a dose of iron or a dose of zinc
and then follow them for a year and see how many of them get sick,” he
explains. “But that does not really tell you, if they were healthier
at the end of that year, why they were healthier.”
The isotope studies on the other hand give more insight into how the
body was actually using those supplements or those micronutrients that
were being given, adds Krebs.
Peter Kaiser of IAEA Division of Public Information expects new data,
published as peer-reviewed scientific reports, to contribute to the
development or monitoring of the best nutritional practices to manage
the nutrition of infants and children who are at high risk of infectious
diseases.
Professor Alan Jackson, a pre-eminent specialist on childhood
malnutrition and Director of the University of Southampton’s Institute
of Human Nutrition, emphasizes the need to act without any further loss
of time.
"Ensuring adequate nutrition to protect the growth and development
of children is a critical factor for sustainable economic growth and
development,” he says.
“Technically, we know what to do, but the challenge is to translate
that into effective action that will transform the lives of millions of
young children around the globe. The big question is whether there is
the political will to protect their future by ensuring that what needs
to be done is in fact done, and done now," Professor Jackson adds.
URGENCY
IAEA is apparently aware of the urgency of the situation. It is
examining the role of micronutrients to help prevent or treat infectious
diseases in children. Investigations span seven countries: Bangladesh,
Burkina Faso, Kenya, Malawi, Pakistan, Tanzania and Vietnam.
Besides, experienced investigators from Switzerland, the United Kingdom,
and the United States are contributing to the planning and
implementation of the project.
This work is funded solely by the IAEA in some countries, while in other
cases IAEA-sponsored stable isotope research is part of larger clinical
trials sponsored by organisations such as the Bill and Melinda Gates
Foundation.
The profound significance of IAEA’s project is underlined by the fact
that four of the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) adopted by
the international community in the year 2000 highlight the importance of
adequate nutrition for human health and development.
With this in view, IAEA is assisting member states in their efforts to
achieve these goals by providing technical support for strategies to
combat under-nutrition.
IAEA’s Department of Technical Cooperation provides member states with
training, equipment and supplies to be able to deploy stable isotope
techniques to laboratories across Africa, Latin America and Asia.
“Compared to conventional techniques, stable isotope techniques offer
much more sensitive and specific measurements,” says IAEA’s Division
of Public Information.
The agency is confident that armed with the evidence-based knowledge of
the quantity, delivery, and quality of nutrients, nutritionists in the
developing world can adjust and enhance nutritional support to speed
infection recovery and help save hundreds of thousands of children’s
lives annually.
[Source:
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