Forum of nutrition
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National health and nutrition surveys have proved invaluable for policy and programs internationally, nationally and locally. With internationally comparable data, decisions can be made on trends and to monitor progress towards improving the nutritional status of women and children. In addition, the iterative process of survey and indicator development ensures that the use of the findings are fed back into the survey for improved design, data collection and measurements. Researchers, policy makers, program managers and surveyors work together for maternal child health.
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In this report the role of the WHO Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality in promoting safe drinking water for the world's population is briefly described. The guidelines are being revised in a third edition to emphasize an integrated approach to water quality assessment and management from source to consumer. The forthcoming guidelines will: be risk-based and quantitative, emphasize quality protection and prevention of contamination, be proactive and participatory, and address the needs of those in developing countries who have no access to piped community water supplies. ⋯ Together, these are the essential health needs to be met in the developing and the developed world. All three contribute to reduced disease and increased health, and the lack of one can degrade the beneficial impact of the others. The importance of safe water, sanitation and nutrition to human health and well-being can be stated no better than it was by United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan in his statement on "Freedom from Want" in the Millennium Report, 03/04/00. "How can we call human beings free and equal in dignity when over a billion of them are struggling to survive on less than one dollar a day, without safe drinking water, and when half of all humanity lacks adequate sanitation? Some of us are worrying about whether the stock market will crash, or struggling to master our latest computer, while more than half our fellow men and women have much more basic worries, such as where their children's next meal is coming from."