Malnutrition in refugee-affected villages

A recent UNICEF-supported survey among children in western Tanzanian villages has found that the malnutrition rate among village children is higher than in the area's refugee camps. The survey measured about 1,150 children under five years old in 16 villages surrounding the refugee camps in the Kagera and Kigoma regions. It found that 8.9 percent of the children were malnourished, using the weight for height methodology. Meanwhile, preliminary results of nutritional surveys in four villages around the Lugufu refugee camp indicate a global malnutrition rate of 5.2 percent, including 2.8 percent severe malnutrition, a recent WFP emergency report said. Those surveys were conducted by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and the Tanzanian Red Cross. Six oedema cases were also identified in the surveyed villages of Kazuramimba, Nyanganga, Uvinza and Basanza, the report said.