Food production, market availability and quality, and market food prices are all good indicators to provide early warning of malnutrition. If nutritional deficiencies are not addressed early, they can lead to wasting and stunted growth, child death, illness, and increased vulnerability to infectious disease (e.g. malaria, diarrhoea, measles, ARLI, HIV), impaired physical & mental development. These impacts can increase the demands on medical and public health.

Infants less than six months old who are not breastfed, in non-emergency situations, are more than 14 times more likely to die from all causes than exclusively breastfed children.

Some dietary advice may include (increased) consumption of certain foods. If these are not “quick cook” varieties, this can result in increased deforestation (for cooking fuel) and exposure to smoke for a longer period (where wood is used for cooking).

Women are the primary caregivers, providers of breastfeeding, and provide most meals for children. It is critical that they are supported in understanding malnutrition and how strengthening the local environment can increase their resilience to its recurrence.

Air pollution
Soil pollution
Water pollution
Natural resource depletion
Cultural acceptance
Impact on wellbeing / mental health
Water depletion

• Potential for infant sickness, malnutrition, diarrhoea, and disease spread
• Potentially contaminated water
• Additional travel for treatment and impacts on household income, care of other children, and potentially harmful environmental coping strategies.

• The occurrence of malnutrition is usually a sign that there is something wrong in the environment – drought, flood, war, and displacement or other disasters causing crops, livelihoods, and markets to fail.
• Where infants and young children are not receiving sufficient nutrition, they are likely to become sick. This can lead to diarrhoea and disease spread.
• Where there is malnutrition there is often contaminated water or severe water shortages.

• Provision of nutritional supplements.
• Provision of clean water/water purification and food for nursing mothers, and counseling and support to ensure breastfeeding of infants wherever possible.
• Advice on fast cooking food varieties, providing brand names or pictures to help people make informed choices.
• Advice on food diversity and nutrition-sensitive food. Promote home gardening when possible.

• Closely consult communities and provide culturally appropriate emergency nutritional supplements/foods. Where exact requirements cannot be met, provide guidance on appropriate preparation and cooking techniques that reduce energy usage and cooking times. Train communities in how to cook unfamiliar foods.
• Provision of clean water/water purification and food for nursing mothers, and counseling and support to ensure breastfeeding of infants should be provided wherever possible, to sustain and improve life and health outcomes and to reduce ongoing environmental damage.

Nutritional advice given in Darfur included training and demonstration on personal hygiene and on disease transmission from the addition of water to babies’ milk. Support was given on improving the mother’s nutrition and fluid intaking, and breastfeeding support. Infant sicknesses reduced.

Caregivers and breastfeeding counsellors are aware of context-specific food

• Prevention of environmental damage
• Mitigation of environmental damage

• Time for community consultation; procurement of food, nutritional supplements, and equipment;
• Time to design training / behavioural centered programmes.