A SILENT EMERGENCY
02 Mar 2018
WORKING AS AN AGRICULTURAL SCIENTIST IN HIS PROFESSIONAL LIFE GAVE RUSS STEPHENSON, FROM THE PROBUS CLUB OF NAMBOUR, THE SKILLS TO HELP IMPOVERISHED PEOPLE IN PAPUA NEW GUINEA.
In 1998 the UN described malnutrition as a ‘silent emergency’. It was an insidious epidemic that was quietly and fatally impacting hundreds of thousands of people around the world, many of them children.
Nine years, and countless charity benefits and heart wrenching ad campaigns later, one in every three people worldwide continue to suffer from malnutrition.
It is responsible for half the deaths of children under the age of five, and is a problem that experts predict will worsen as the effects of climate change intensify.
As part of a movement to combat malnutrition Agricultural Scientist Dr Russ Stephenson works as the District Coordinator for Food Plant Solutions at The Food Plant Solutions Rotarian Action Group (FPS). The group aims to create long-term solutions to malnutrition through education about nutrition, and sustainable farming practices.
“The key,” Russ explains, “is an awareness of the link between the nutritive content of food and good health and unrestricted growth and development, and supplying the right nutrients in the right quantities to overcome malnutrition.”
The approach has already resulted in tangible benefits for communities suffering from malnutrition.
After a school lunch program was launched in Vietnam in accordance with the FPS approach last year, there was an 80-95 percent reduction in student malnutrition.
“There is still a need to demonstrate compelling benefits, particularly to the most vulnerable – babies and young children,” Russ says, explaining that malnutrition of mothers during pregnancy and breastfeeding, and of babies after weaning, can permanently damage physical and cognitive development.
FPS in Papua New Guinea
The effects of malnutrition are felt acutely in remote areas of Papua New Guinea (PNG), where rates of infant morbidity, mortality and malnutrition are among the highest in the world.
The realisation that FPS could alleviate high levels of malnutrition in the most impoverished areas led him to Mougulu, in a remote area of PNG's Western Province. Like many remote parts of PNG, the area is under-resourced.
“The average income is less than $10 a year. The 28,800 inhabitants are poorly serviced,” Russ explains.
Consequently, a global grant project to alleviate malnutrition in the area has been developed.
Russ notes that many of the nutrients required to combat malnutrition are available in the area, but are often underutilised and are grown in small quantities.
“Many nutritious foods are grown in the gardens but quantities are insufficient to meet daily nutrient requirements. Malnutrition can be overcome by increasing the quantities, and frequency of consumption, of existing legumes, dry seeds and oily food,” he explains.
Consequently, supplement seeds for legumes, corn and coconut have been introduced to gardens and farms in the area to increase the availability of nutritious food.
The project also promotes sustainable farming practices to adjust to the effects of global warming and manage disease threats to crops.
A number of educational programs have also been implemented to help create lasting alleviation from the effects of malnutrition.
The hope is that this will particularly benefit schoolchildren, many of whom, Russ notes, “walk three hours to and from school each day and seldom have lunch”.
Focus on women's health
The educational programs in Mougulu also feature an increased focus on the health of women and young children.
According to Russ, the program stresses, “the need for mothers to be well-nourished and strong, and for family planning to give their bodies time to recover from the demands of continuous and overlapping pregnancy and breast
feeding cycles”. The program stresses the importance of good personal and food preparation hygiene and disease prevention, and promotes healthy diets for babies.
Hope for the future
Despite the daunting project of global alleviation of malnutrition, Russ is optimistic about the future.
The region's strong focus on family and the unilateral commitment of the community to children’s well-being create an environment for FPS to thrive and make a difference.
Russ has also been encouraged by the local people and many experts experienced in rural development in PNG.
“I hope that the expected success of this preliminary project will lead to more widespread adoption throughout the country (and throughout the world) of the approach I am developing.”
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