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Tuesday, November 17, 2009

PalArab kids in better shape than other Arabs

From the UN's IRIN news agency:
An estimated 200 million children aged under five in the developing world suffer from stunted growth due to maternal and childhood undernutrition, according to a new UNICEF report.

“Stunting is associated with developmental problems and is often impossible to correct. A child who is stunted is likely to experience a lifetime of poor health and underachievement,” a UNICEF statement on 11 November said.

In the Middle East, the Occupied Palestinian Territories have a stunting prevalence of 10 percent, a surprisingly better result than other, far wealthier neighbours, which have the following scores:

Lebanon - 11
Jordan - 12
Oman - 13
UAE - 17
Saudi Arabia - 20
Kuwait - 24
Iraq - 26
Syria - 28
Egypt - 29
Yemen – 58
Looking at other Arab countries:

Algeria - 15
Morocco - 36
Qatar - 10
Bahrain - 12
Libya - 17
Tunisia - 6

Palestinian Arab kids have the second lowest rate of stunting in the Arab world, tied with Qatar behind Tunisia.

Since stunting is associated with malnutrition, and since we have been told incessantly that Palestinian Arab children (especially Gazans) are "starving," it appears that the people who push the "starving" agenda are liars.

And that looming "humanitarian crisis" somehow remains "looming" for over 15 years.