During emergency situations, disease and death rates among under-five children are generally higher than for any other age group. The fundamental means of preventing malnutrition and mortality among infants and young children is to ensure their optimal feeding and care. Donations of infant formula and other powdered milk products are often made, whilst experience with past emergencies has shown that without proper assessment of needs, an excessive quantity of milk products for feeding infants and young children are often provided, to the detriment of their well-being. To avoid this situation, WHO, UNICEF, the International Committee of the Red Cross and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies issued a call for support for appropriate infant and young child feeding applicable to all complex emergencies, and caution about unnecessary use of milk products. Search keywords: earthquake, disaster.
