SUVA: The United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) is concerned about poor people living in urban areas in Pacific region as global food prices rise, Xinhua news agency said quoting The Fiji Times website’s recent report.
The Fijian daily newspaper quoted Unicef representative in the Pacific Dr Isiye Ndombi as saying that Pacific’s most vulnerable families and children are at risk because of the rise in food prices globally.
“The problem is particularly acute for families in urban settlements who do not have the option of supplementing their diets with gardening and fishing,” Ndombi said, “the effects of cutting back on food or switching to less nutritious food can have a serious effect on pregnant women and young children, depriving them of essential nutrients during a critical period.” He said sentinel monitoring also reveals that adolescents were facing some of the harshest impacts of the price rises.
The Unicef has called on governments and partners to ensure that rising food prices do not undermine children’s nutrition, education and development, saying its most recent surveys in 18 urban and rural settlements in the Pacific revealed a worrying picture of high food prices across the region.
In response to global and regional concerns over high food prices, the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) and Pacific island governments will meet in Nadi, Fiji to discuss measures to address the emerging food price crisis.
Ndombi said, “While measures need to be based on individual country’s situations and priorities and capacities of different stakeholders, Unicef calls on all countries to ensure that children and mothers are placed as a first priority.” — Bernama