NEW YORK, NY, Nov 24, 2009 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- At two recent conferences
on innovative malnutrition research organized by the Copenhagen Consensus
Center, Helen Keller International's programs to reduce malnutrition were
awarded first prize by government officials, NGOs, researchers and private
sector representatives.
On November 3, 2009 in Nairobi, Kenya, HKI's Shawn Baker, VP & Regional Director
for Africa, was awarded the first prize of 25,000 Danish Kroners for
groundbreaking research on his presentation: "Vitamin A supplementation for
child survival in sub-Saharan Africa: successes, challenges and next steps."
Mr. Baker commented on the significant value of the conference, "This prize and
conference are hugely encouraging and demonstrate the importance of working
together to identify, highlight and implement effective solutions to the
challenges of malnutrition."
On November 11, 2009 in New York City, HKI's Shawn Baker, along with
collaborators Kenneth H. Brown, Sonja Y. Hess and Stephen A. Vosti of the
University of California, Davis, were awarded first prize for their paper on
"Therapeutic Zinc Supplementation."
The winning paper builds on previous research completed by the International
Zinc Nutrition Consultative Group (IZiNCG), showing that zinc supplementation
reduces the incidence of diarrhea and pneumonia, the two major killers of
children in developing countries. The current analyses examined the relative
costs and likely impact of different types of public health programs for
delivering supplemental zinc to young children.
Copenhagen Consensus Center director Bjorn Lomborg said, "The Copenhagen
Consensus malnutrition conferences... were a huge success -- but we need to do a
lot more to ensure that malnutrition interventions remain on the agenda.
"It was inspirational to see the excellent research coming from this field. It
was great to be able to recognize and applaud some of those researchers, and to
release research that will be of concrete help to donors, aid groups, NGOs and
governments."
The Copenhagen Consensus Center (http://www.copenhagenconsensus.com/) is a
think-tank based at the Copenhagen Business School in Denmark. Its goal is to
promote the use of sound economic science in public policy development. In
addition to creating a forum for rewarding innovative research, the Copenhagen
Consensus Center launched its series of Best Practice Papers showing how
governments can concretely respond to the problems of malnutrition.
Founded in 1915, Helen Keller International's (HKI) mission is to save the sight
and lives of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged. HKI combats the causes and
consequences of blindness and malnutrition by establishing programs based on
evidence and research in vision, health and nutrition. HKI programs combat
refractive error, cataract, trachoma, onchocerciasis (river blindness) and
malnutrition. HKI receives support from the United States Agency for
International Development (USAID), the Canadian International Development Agency
(CIDA) and other national and local governments as well as from private and
corporate foundations and individuals.
CONTACT:
Jennifer Klopp
Vice President of Development and Communications
Helen Keller International
212-532-0544 x808
Email Contact
SOURCE: Helen Keller International
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