Note to Correspondents

health experts to raise awareness of relationship linking early nutrition,

 

cognitive development, at headquarters event on 12 december

 

While the United Nations General Assembly holds a special session to assess the progress of “A World Fit for Children”, a plan of action adopted by 180 countries five years ago to protect and promote children's rights, international health experts will hold a side event to raise awareness for the connection between early nutrition and cognitive ability on 12 December.

Given that two of the main goals of A World Fit for Children are to promote healthy lives and provide quality education, the panellists will discuss recent research demonstrating the link between early nutritional intake and brain function.  The purpose is to encourage policymakers and health-care workers to take a holistic approach to improve services for mothers, infants and young children.  They will also provide insights regarding iron deficiencies and other key micronutrients, as well as guidance about successful interventions to achieve optimal health for general and vulnerable populations.

The panel discussion will take place on 12 December in Conference Room A from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.  The International Special Dietary Foods Industries, a United Nations-accredited non-governmental organization, is sponsoring the event, as are The American Women’s Medical Association; The Medical Women’s Association of Nigeria; The Netherlands Council of Women; and the Conference of Non-Governmental Organizations in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations, Committee on Education.  Speakers include:  Joyce Braak (moderator), president, Institute for Research on Women’s Health; Ngozi Ukaeje, senior counsellor, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Nigeria; Mandana Arabi, PhD, nutrition specialist, infant feeding, UNICEF, an expert on the effects of international nutrition, food policy, globalization and how these issues affect the health of vulnerable populations, specifically the nutritional status of children in Mexico; Alice Mannor Chan-Yip, associate professor, Department of Pediatrics at McGill University Health Center, an expert in micronutrient deficiencies, specifically the prevalence of iron deficiencies in Chinese children; and Tatanisha Peets, Masters of Public Health candidate focusing on nutritional issues in developing nations at Hunter College in Manhattan.

For more information, contact Felicia Morton, tel.:  646 649 5708 mobile:  917 309 3489.

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For information media • not an official record