MENTAL HEALTH & CARE PRACTICES ASPECTS OF STUNTING

As of 2019, nearly 821 million individuals suffer from hunger worldwide, particularly in Asia and Africa.

Action Against Hunger (Action Contre la Faim) fights against hunger by promoting treatment and prevention of undernutrition related to severe and moderate acute malnutrition. In 2019, ACF reached over 17 million people of which 5.5 million were enrolled in nutrition programs and 416,086 persons benefited from our Mental Health and Care Practices programs2.

In its International Strategic Plan 2016-2020, ACF aims to mitigate the consequences of hunger, address the causes of hunger and change the way hunger is viewed and addressed. This time, as a new development, one of ACF’s goals is to reduce prevalence of chronic (and acute) undernutrition, according to Sustainable Development Goals and World Health Assembly 2025 target levels. Chronic undernutrition is one of the most serious chronic illnesses in the world today, impacting the development of poor communities. Several psychosocial and care practices factors are affecting nutrition, leading to acute and chronic malnutrition, such as: disturbed mother and child relationship, break in bonding and/or infant and young children feeding practices, mother’s depression, parental traumatism, separation from the mother, family conflict, death of relative, isolation of the mother, decision making aspects, unattractive child due to illness as well as poverty and recent urbanization/displacement/acculturation.