|© UNICEF/ HQ97-1164/ Pirozzi|
|Children share a tin plate of ugali' and beans for lunch at an orphanage in the city of Mombasa, Kenya.|
Poor nutrition is part of an intergenerational cycle of poverty, poor growth and unrealized potential. UNICEF uses a holistic approach to improve the nutritional status of both mother and child, with special emphasis on pregnancy, breastfeeding and the first three vulnerable years of life.
UNICEF views nutrition as a basic human right, articulated in numerous human rights instruments from the Convention on the Rights of the Child to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. UNICEF encourages communities and governments to use the Triple A approach to tackling the problem of malnutrition: assess the problem, analyze its causes and take action.