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A nutritionist in Vanuatu is expecting more cases of acute malnutrition to surface in the next few months as the country remains in the grip of el Nino and recovers from Cyclone Pam which hit a year ago.
Louisa Tokon, who works with the WHO and the Ministry of Health in Vanuatu, said systems were being beefed up and health workers being prepared to deal with the rise in cases.
RNZI reports the latest figures available from a 2012 survey show nearly three in ten children in the country suffer from stunted growth due to chronic malnutrition and more than one on four children suffer from anaemia or a lack of iron.
Ms Tokon said there were hot spots of malnutrition around the country but in many cases it was due to a lack of knowledge about good diet.
"It's also getting awareness out saying the child is important, the child needs to eat so that's part of our training as well. It's also something to do with culture. You have some cultural foods that they give to children which might not be adequate. They probably just give carbohydrates and won't give any other food group."
Ms Tokon said work was also being done to improve the nutritional value of donated food and bring in a supplementary feeding programme.
