Why Nutrition?

Malnutrition

For millions of orphans and children around the world, essential nutrition is simply not an available option. Malnutrition is considered to be a child’s most difficult challenge. According to UNICEF’s most recent statistics, every year 5 million children die from malnutrition. That‘s one child every 6 seconds! Children become malnourished when they don’t receive the adequate nutrients their bodies need to maintain health.

DEVASTATING FACTS:

Undernutrition contributes to 53% of the 9.7 million deaths of children under five each year in developing countries.
Source: Under Five Deaths By Cause, UNICEF, 2006.
Vitamin A deficiencies affect approximately 25% of the developing world's pre-schoolers and lead to the death of approximately 1–3 million children a year.
Source: ‘UN Standing Committee on Nutrition’. World Nutrition Situation 5th Report, 2005.
Iodine deficiency is the greatest single cause of brain damage.
Source: ‘UN Standing Committee on Nutrition’. World Nutrition Situation 5th Report, 2005.
An average of 450,000 children under age five die due to Zinc deficiency.
Source: ‘Investing in the Future: A United Call to Action on Vitamin and Mineral Deficiencies’, UNICEF/MI/WHO, 2009.

Food Is Not Enough

Current food programs are mainly cereal-based and lack many of the nutrients young children need. According to the international relief organization, Doctors Without Borders, food is not enough. In fact, these fortified, blended flours no longer meet the minimum nutritional criteria for young children set by experts at the World Health Organization. In other words, filling a child's stomach not only fails to correct the problem, but it serves as only a temporary fix to a much bigger problem.

Even when actual vitamin and mineral supplements are provided, they are most often not from natural sources and may not be as bioavailable as plant-sourced nutrients.

The Solution.

Children suffering from malnutrition need more nutrient-dense foods to get the proper nutrients their bodies require. Recent advancements in hydroponically grown vegetables are an example of how new science is best meeting these needs. MannaRelief can now, for the first time, provide children with dietary supplements that supply plant-sourced nutrients in standardized and nutritionally effective amounts. Mannatech's PhytoBurst™ Nutritional Chews can be eaten directly from the packet and do not require refrigeration or mixing with scarce clean water. With this technology in place, we can truly make a difference.