Nutrition experts warn that the economic corona can cause a wave of chronic illnesses - as a result of poor nutrition or malnutrition.
Nutrition experts from major academic institutions in Israel issued a warning on Sunday that corona damage in the second wave will severely damage national nutritional resilience in the country. The experts took advantage of Minister Tzahi Hanegbi's statement that "people have nothing to eat with this regret," to warn that the lack of reference to poor nutrition and food insecurity in Israel poses a risk of serious morbidity following the infection with the corona virus. The experts claim that two months ago, the NSC approached with a series of lessons from the first wave, but have so far received no response.
Photo: Moshe Ben Simhon
The collaboration between the experts is led by two researchers from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem - Prof. Hagai Levin from the School of Public Health and the Chairman of the Association of Public Health Doctors of the Medical Association, and Prof. Aaron Trojan from the School of Nutrition Sciences. Intervention in the existing situation will lead to the nutritional systems, as they are today, leading to chronic morbidity and the outbreak of many background diseases that will significantly exacerbate the damage now expected, in the second wave. Do not think 'tunnel thinking' and only deal with Corona. In order to protect public health, serious and long-term health threats, such as poor nutrition, must also be addressed. "
More on:
UN concern: Corona will lead to world hunger
Zahi Hanegbi: "Nothing to eat? Disgrace "
Opinion: Corona - Ill and Poor Disease
Prof. Aharon states" There are hungers in Tel Aviv too! Even before Corona, Social Security reported that about 18 percent of Israel's population is in food insecurity, half (about 9 percent) in severe food insecurity, and about 370,000 children receive a hot meal at the state-funded school, partly to support water Of those who would not receive her at home. Since the Corona, the number of applicants to Tel Aviv's Shavuot home has jumped by about 400%, including 200-300 children turning to food daily. The problem is not only in the periphery, it is not a matter of 'transparent' and not of 'the other'. This is a test of the image of Israeli society and its leaders. No one chooses to be hungry or diabetic. As the pandemic spreads in the population, it will hit more obese and background diseases that could be prevented or mitigated. "
Prof. Shira Zalber-Sagi, Head of the School of Public Medicine at the University of Haifa:" We are in a new era where infectious diseases combine forces with chronic diseases . This chronic morbidity increases the risk of more serious illness and mortality among patients in Corona. Chronic morbidity should not be neglected precisely during the recurrence of the epidemic and the importance of nutrition must not be ignored. Nutrition education and food security will prevent and improve chronic morbidity and severe morbidity in Corona, and even ease the long-term view of the burden on the health system. "
Prof. Nir Ohad, head of the Tel Aviv University food security program, added:" One of the important components that must be addressed is security. Nutrition of Israeli residents, especially for at-risk groups and disadvantaged groups. We call upon the NSC to assist the expert team who volunteered to mobilize for the nutritional security of all of us. "
Prof. Nadav Davidovich, Head of Ben Gurion University School of Public Health: "Coping with the Corona epidemic cannot include only measures of the number of infected, severely ill, respiratory and deceased patients. The results of recent months have brought significant challenges in the field of nutrition. To address the dimension of nutrition and food security as part of the metrics that test the success of coping with the Corona epidemic. "
As mentioned earlier, in May, the experts sent their first letter, a position paper distributed to the NSC, which reads "A National Master Plan for Food and Nutrition Necessary for Every Amended State in Routine and Emergency. Israel must urgently address this issue in order to prevent or contain health, economic and social damages expected from the second wave, and to learn lessons for increasing national resilience in routine and future emergencies. "
What can the experts say? In the immediate term, the government will have to ensure its existence And the survival of emergency stock, which will be based on the essentials of the healthy food basket under mandatory guidelines from the Ministry of Health, and also state that physical access and government support should be provided for distributing healthy or equivalent food to a needy and / or incarcerated population for any reason, with emphasis on vulnerable populations Such as the elderly, infants, pregnant mothers and lactating mothers and economically disadvantaged populations.
