CCOUC Disaster and Humanitarian Seminar Series 2013-2014: Nutrition Issues in Disaster—Evidence and Actions in China

Ms. Du Wenwen, CCOUC Regional Fellow from the National Institute for Nutrition and Food Safety of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC), spoke at the CCOUC Disaster and Humanitarian seminar Series 2013-2014 on the topic “Nutrition issues in disaster—evidence and actions in China” on 6th March 2014 to share her experience in nutrition in a disaster context.

The focus of the presentation was on populations in disaster having high risk of suffering from multiple forms of malnutrition. As pointed out by Ms. Du, the risk levels of malnutrition in emergencies depend on the degree of civil security, food availability and accessibility, access to health services, and adequacy of assistance delivery. Ms. Du also provided insights into how disaster affected nutritional status in the Sichuan earthquake (2008) and subsequent actions and policy initiatives aiming to decrease malnutrition caused by the disaster.

The research interests of Ms. Du cover public nutrition and policy, including nutrition survey, evidence-based nutrition intervention and nutrition-related policies. She is also interested in rapid nutrition assessment in emergencies and preventing and controlling malnutrition in disaster-affected population.

The presentation materials can be downloaded here.