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Just over a year ago Cyclone Pam decimated the Pacific Island of Vanuatu.
As the country continues to rebuild, it is now also dealing with the effects of drought driven by El Nino -- the dry conditions stunting the growth of crops and availability of food, leading to severe acute malnutrition amongst the islands children.
Official figures provided by Save the Children state that over 78 per cent of children in Vanuatu are malnourished, in what they're calling a “slow acting disaster”.
“The Pacific has some of the highest rates of child malnutrition in the world, posing a major impediment to development across the region,” said Dr Lisa Bonadonna, head of the GSK-Save the Children partnership.
Vanuatu is the world's most disaster prone country, and malnutrition is the biggest contributor to child mortality in the region.
To combat the damage of widespread malnutrition, Save The Children and GSK have teamed up and created Emergency Health Units and mobile clinics to provide nutrition support to children in need.
The initiative is a part of a wider program provided by the Australian government under the Humanitarian Partnership Agreement.
“Malnutrition in 2016 is unacceptable. No child's survival or development should be threatened by a condition that is entirely preventable, Dr Bonadonna said.
“And we need to continue supporting our neighbours in the Pacific long after the El Nino weather pattern has passed.”
Continued support is needed to end malnutrition in the region.
