Clinton unveils global health programs on child hunger, clean cookstoves

Clinton unveils malnutrition, pollution programs

NEW YORK — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is unveiling programs to combat child hunger and reduce pollution from indoor stoves that causes diseases, especially in poorer countries.

In New York on Tuesday, Clinton helped launch a program to address chronic malnutrition blamed for 3.5 million maternal and child deaths a year. The program is co-sponsored by the Irish government and focuses on the first 1,000 days of a child’s life, during which nutrition is critical to mental and physical development.

Later Tuesday, Clinton is to announce a U.S. contribution to the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves that promotes the use of cleaner and more efficient cooking materials. Exposure to pollution from traditional indoor stoves and fires causes diseases that kill nearly 2 million in the developing world annually, mostly children and young women.