| HONDURAS Food Security Warning | June 7, 2007 |
Slow intervention could lead to increased child malnutrition in the south
| Figure 1. Municipalities with children under five affected by growth faltering (weight for age) Source: VAM Unit, WFP Honduras |
| Figure 2. Percentage of children under five below the third percentile of weight for age, January to June 2006 and 2007 Data from March to June, 2007 are estimates based on the annual average growth rate for January - June. Source: Nutrition and Food Security Coalition, Grupo Sur Coalition |
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Food insecurity and malnutrition in children under five could increase in 37 municipalities in southern Honduras if the pace of food aid and input distribution for the primera planting is not increased. Nearly 8,300 subsistence-producer families lost most of the harvest during the 2006/07 agriculture cycle in this region (Figure 1) and are currently in the annual hunger season when food access is limited. As a result, these households have reduced the quantity and quality of food they consume more than in previous years. It is necessary to speed up the food assistance program initiated in May to reduce the threat of an increase in the percentage of children less than five years of age at risk of increased malnutrition.
According to the Nutrition and Food Security Coalition, based on the nutritional status of children under five reported by local health units from January to June 2006 and the trend observed from January to May 2007, this June the percentage of children experiencing growth faltering (in terms of weight for age below the third z-score) in the 37 municipalities could be more than double than that in June 2006 (Figure 2). This tendency could continue until August, when the primera harvest improves food access.
In response to this situation, and to reduce the threat of increased food insecurity, the World Food Program, together with the Special Food Security Program, the Ministry of Health and municipalities, began to implement an intervention plan in May. The plan includes distributing food aid, strengthening local capacity for nutrition monitoring and supplying seeds and inputs to initiate agricultural activities. The initial implementation of this intervention has been slow, and the risk of an increase in the percentage of children under five years of age with nutritional problems is likely to remain until the end of August. If the primera production is below average due to the lack of short-cycle high-quality seeds and other inputs, this risk could persist until the postrera harvest in November/December.
