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Nepal Facing Malnutrition Crisis


A farmer separates grains from weeds of barley in Lalitpur, near Kathmandu, April 26, 2011.
A farmer separates grains from weeds of barley in Lalitpur, near Kathmandu, April 26, 2011.

The World Food Program says Nepal is facing a malnutrition crisis, with food aid set to be drastically cut in the coming months.

The United Nations agency currently helps feed a million people living in the remote western region of the country, but WFP officials say that number will decrease to 100,000 due to a funding shortfall.

The WFP says it does not have enough money to continue flying supplies by helicopter to the hilly region, where the rate of malnutrition is currently around 70 percent.

The U.N. agency says it is working with Nepal's government to try and increase its capacity to provide food aid to areas not easily accessible by roads.

More than 40 percent of Nepal's total population is estimated to be undernourished.

Economic growth in the Himalayan nation has been slow following the country's decade-long war with Maoist rebels, which ended in 2006.

Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

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