Nairobi, May 12: Nearly half of all women and children in Somalia have anaemia and Vitamin A deficiency, a recent study indicates.
The study – conducted by the Food Security Nutrition Analysis Unit (FSNAU-Somalia) in conjunction with the UN Children’s Fund, the World Health Organization, the World Food Programme and under the technical leadership of the Institute of Child Health, University of London – said: “Somali women and children are suffering from shocking levels of anaemia and Vitamin A deficiencies.”
In a statement on 6 May FSNAU-Somalia said the study classified “50 percent of all women, 30 percent of all school-aged children and 60 percent of children under five as anaemic”.
According to the study, anaemia in Somalia is caused by a range of factors, including frequent exposure to diseases, which are often untreated, and the consumption of predominantly cereal-based diets, which lack key vitamins and minerals.
—Agencies