Mauritania: Women, children, and refugees bear brunt of food crisis

| November 2, 2015

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Women and children are bearing the brunt of a hunger and malnutrition crisis in Mauritania, the head of the UN World Food Programme, or WFP, said last week.

Malnutrition has hit emergency levels in six of Mauritania’s 15 regions, affecting at least one in six people.

Ertharin Cousin is the WFP’s Executive Director. She says droughts have reduced the availability of nutritious food, and that widespread poverty means many cannot afford to eat a healthy diet.

Ms. Cousin says: “So many are living close to the edge … women and children are the most vulnerable. A failure to meet the nutritional needs of pregnant women will have a direct impact on the health of their children.”

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Photo credit: Oxfam New Zealand