Jamie Glueck for The New York Times

Malnutrition and Poverty:

UNICEF searches for a resolution

New York Times, Jamie Glueck

            The issue of malnutrition and poverty is a struggle shared between many countries in UNICEF. Some working resolutions tossed back and forth include creating hospitals, job databases, utilizing non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and more. Norway and Guyana agree that there should be stronger application of NGOs. Sweden on the other hand, said local organizations would not cut it. 

Whether it was affiliated with the government or not, the idea of communal centers was frequently talked about. These centers would provide clean water and food. Kenya added that  nutritional supplements could also be made available at the centers to aid malnutrition. Although, countries concurred that this would be a temporal solution. Thinking long-term, the consensus was that the only way to fix the struggle of malnutrition and poverty is by bettering the economy. Denmark raised the idea of working on creating jobs, so that people can feed themselves rather than relying on organizations. Other countries made resolutions to create job databases, and job centers to help people escape poverty.

The creation of local hospitals was emphasized by Haiti, Belgium, and India. These could provide relief as well as jobs. They agreed that the health of pregnant women and children should be paramount, and that their needs should be catered to first.

            Canada and Kenya had a mutual resolution. “The Kenyanada Compromise” wants to begin by spreading awareness of the vitality of NGOs to this process. They plan to get people from developed countries to donate to NGOs in hopes of motivating them to allocate more money to UNICEF. This would create a pool of money to draw from for grants to build hospitals and distribution centers in order to handout the provided food to those who need it. “The Kenyanada Compromise” focuses on the danger of fatal childbirths by ensuring sterility and comfort of women in labor. Canada personally wants to “pay special attention to providing clean drinking water and placing hospitals in strategic areas to maximize their availability to people in under developed countries.”

            The mutual agreement was that malnutrition and poverty is a problem in all countries, even the most developed. UNICEF vowed to work with federal organizations as wall as NGO’s to try to remedy this issue.