News and notes

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Anniversary

The Tanzanian Food and Nutrition Centre celebrated its twentieth anniversary on 6 December 1993. Among its major achievements have been:

» the development of a food and nutrition policy for Tanzania,

» the development of a conceptual framework for the analysis of malnutrition problems,

» the creation of awareness on nutrition among decision makers and the public at large,

» collaboration with various international agencies and ministries in the development and implementation of community-based nutrition programmes related to child survival and development.

The Food and Nutrition Bulletin extends its congratulations and best wishes to the Tanzanian Food and Nutrition Centre for many more years of valuable contributions to the improvement of food and nutrition in Tanzania.

Editorial: International congresses.

Over the years, an increasing number of us have attended a rather sizeable number of congresses— international, world, continental, domestic, and so on. In discussions concerning these congresses, the above "increasing number," who are also increasing in the age factor, seem to have a consensus.

Big congresses tend to focus on attracting, in our case, paediatricians and related health professionals from as many different countries as possible, every three years for example. It is understandable, then, that for the duration of a congress the attendees have before them a concentrated programme of plenary sessions, seminars, colloquia, exhibits, not to mention attractive social activities. It's all rather daunting.

Some of the more senior "regulars" say they prefer to read papers rather than listen to them, and they raise a question: Could not the objectives of a congress be achieved by collecting and distributing abstracts? One objective could, for sure. But only one.

The other elements of a successful congress include providing a background for great numbers of paediatric and sub-specialty individuals from various developing and developed countries to communicate—both in session discussions and individually. The successful congress also provides a forum for meeting new and old acquaintances, for stimulating attendees by occasional high-standard, perhaps provocative, presentations vectoring on a worldwide child health problem. Our more senior health professionals need to remember that successful congresses also provide an arena for the more junior colleagues to perform and for commercial interests in child health to show their wares.

Since successful congresses require a huge amount of time and money to organize, they do need, today, a strong defence so that they may continue.

—Frank Falkner
Editor in Chief
International Child Health

Publications

Low-cost newsletters and journals of interest to nutritionists

The following English-language publications give up-to-date information on applied human nutrition. Most are free to individuals, institutions, and/or libraries in "low-income" countries—but check before you order. Some publications are also free to workers in "industrialized" countries.

The Nutrition Society hopes to update this list in one or two years and so requests readers to send other relevant newsletters from their own countries or institutions to the Executive Secretary, Nutrition Society, 10 Cambridge Court, 210 Shepherds Bush, London W6 7NJ, UK.

Publications covering mainly nutrition

BMCA Update, from Baby Milk Action, 23 St. Andrew's St., Cambridge CB2 3AX, UK (breast-feeding, milk companies).
Breast-feeding Briefs, from International Baby Food Action Network/Geneva Infant Feeding Association, CP 157, 1211 Geneva 19, Switzerland (breast-feeding).
Cajanus, from Caribbean Food and Nutrition Institute, Box 140, Mona, Kingston, Jamaica (community nutrition, food policy, Caribbean).
C-H-O International Dialogue on Carbohydrates, from Advisa Medica, 526-528 Watford Way, London NW7 3YP—funded by the Sugar Bureau (carbohydrates, diet).
Food, Nutrition and Agriculture, from Food Policy and Nutrition Division, Food and Agriculture Organization, 00100 Rome Italy (food, nutrition, food policy, food regulations).
IBFAN News, from International Baby Food Action Network, 310 E. 38th St., Suite 301, Minneapolis, MN 55409, USA (breast-feeding, infant foods).
IDD Newsletter, from Dr. J. T. Dunn, International Council for Control of Iodine Deficiency Disorders, Box 511, University of Virginia Medical Center, Charlottesville, VA 22908, USA (iodine deficiency research, policies, country reports).
IFPRI Report, from International Food Policy Research Institute, 1200 Seventeenth St. NW, Washington, DC 20036-3006, USA (food security, food policy, research).
Mothers and Children, from Clearing House on Infant Feeding and Maternal Nutrition, American Public Health Association, 1015 15th St. NW, Washington, DC 20005, USA (nutrition/health of children and women).
NFI Bulletin, from Nutrition Foundation of India, 13-37 Gulmohar Park, New Delhi 110049, India (nutrition research, programmes, India).
Nutrition News, from National Institute of Nutrition, Indian Council of Medical Research, Jamia-Osmania P.O., Hyderabad-500 007, A.P., India (for libraries only) (nutrition, India).
ORANA/VITAL, from ORANA, 39 Ave. Pasteur, BP 2089, Dakar, Senegal (monthly bibliography on vitamin A).
SCN News, from ACC/Sub-committee on Nutrition, c/o WHO, 1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland (nutrition, UN agencies).
Vit News, from Vitamin A Field Support Project, 1601 N. Kent St., Suite 1016, Arlington, VA 22209, USA (vitamin A deficiency, VAD projects).
Vitamin A News Notes, from Helen Keller International, 15 W. 16th St., New York, NY 10011, USA (vitamin A deficiency, VAD projects).
Vitamin A Sieve, from Rodale Press Information Services, 33 E. Minor St., Emmaus, PA 18098, USA (vitamin A, vitamin A deficiency).
Xerophthalmia Bulletin, from Dr. D. S. McLaren, International Centre for Eye Health, 27 Cayton St., London ECIV 9EJ, UK (vitamin A, vitamin A deficiency).

Publications covering nutrition and other topics

African Farmer, from Hunger Project, 1 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10010, USA (food and farming).
Ageways, from Help the Aged, St. James Walk, London EC1R 0BE, UK (old people).
AIDS Action, from Appropriate Health Resources and Technologies Group, 1 London Bridge St., London SE1 9SG, UK (AIDS).
ARIews, from Appropriate Health Resources and Technologies Group, 1 London Bridge St., London SE1 9SG, UK (respiratory infections).
Community Eye Health, from International Centre for Eye Health, 27-29 Cayton St., London EC1V 9EJ, UK (eye health).
Chetna News, from Centre for Health Education, Training and Nutrition Awareness, III Floor, Drive-In Cinema Building, Ahmedabad 380 054, India (woman/child health and feeding, community health care).
Children in the Tropics, from International Children's Centre, Château de Longchamp, Bois de Boulogne, 75016 Paris, France (child health).
Dialogue on Diarrhoea, from Appropriate Health Resources and Technologies Group, 1 London Bridge St., London SE1 9SG, UK (diarrhoeal diseases).
Food Chain, from Intermediate Technology Development Group (ITDG), Myson House, Railway Terrace, Rugby CV21 7HT, UK (food production, small-scale processing).
Footsteps, from Tear Fund, 100 Church Rd., Teddington TW11 8QE, UK (health, agriculture development).
Glimpse, from International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, GPO Box 123, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh (diarrhoeal diseases).
Health Action, from Appropriate Health Resources and Technologies Group, 1 London Bridge St., London SE1 9SG, UK (primary health care).
Health Lines, from Oxfam, 274 Banbury Rd., Oxford OX2 7DZ, UK (community health care).
IPPF Medical Bulletin, from International Planned Parenthood Federation, Box 759, Inner Circle, Regent Park, London NW1 4LQ, UK (family planning, mother/child health).
Learning for Health, from Education Resource Group, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Pembroke Place, Liverpool L3 5QA, UK (health promotion).
Mothercare Matters, from Mothercare Matters, John Snow Inc., 1616 N. Fort Myer Drive, 11th floor. Arlington, VA 22209, USA (maternal and neonatal health/nutrition).
Nu News on Health Care in Developing Countries, from International Child Health Unit, University Hospital, S-751 85 Uppsala, Sweden (health care issues).
RAP News, from United Nations University Food and Nutrition Programme for Human and Social Development, Charles St. Sta., Box 500, Boston, MA 02114-0500, USA (rapid assessment procedures).
Safe Motherhood, from Division of Family Health, World Health Organization, 1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland (maternal health).
State of the World's Children Annual Report, from UNICEF, 3 UN Plaza, New York, NY 10017, USA (child health and care, statistics). (Compiled by the Nutrition Society's Task Force on Overseas Members, who thank everyone who contributed information, especially the Appropriate Health Resources and Technologies Group, UK.)

Correction

In table 1 of "History of the INCAP Longitudinal Study on the Effects of Early Nutrition Supplementation in Child Growth and Development" by Merrill S. Read and Jean-Pierre Habicht, Food and Nutrition Bulletin, vol. 14, no. 3 (Sept. 1992), p. 172, the nationality of Dr. Victor Valverde should have been given as Costa Rica.

Food and Nutrition Bulletin peer review policy

The Food and Nutrition Bulletin is a peer-reviewed journal. Every article submitted first receives editorial review. If it is consistent with the editorial policy of the Bulletin (see the statement of policy inside the front cover) and is not obviously deficient in some way, it is sent to two or sometimes three experienced and knowledgeable reviewers. Occasionally a paper may be returned to the authors by the editor with suggestions for improvement before it is submitted to the reviewers.

If two reviewers agree that the paper should be published in the Bulletin, it is accepted and either sent immediately for copy editing or returned to the authors for consideration of suggestions from the reviewers and the editor. If both reviewers agree that the paper should not be accepted, the editor writes a personal letter to the authors explaining the reason and enclosing the comments of the reviewers anonymously. If the reviewers do

not agree with each other, either the paper is sent to a third reviewer or a decision is taken by the editor. In these cases, the authors are usually given a chance to respond to the reviewers' comments.

The Bulletin continues to give high priority to manuscripts based on work in developing countries, especially from local institutions and authors. It is desirable for papers to be submitted typed with double spacing, with the English as carefully edited as locally possible. However, the quality of the English is not a significant consideration in the decision to accept or reject a manuscript, because this can be improved by the editorial office. (Note that the Bulletin also accepts papers written in French or Spanish. See the Notes for contributors at the back of this issue.) Inclusion of a computer diskette with the manuscript greatly facilitates the editorial process.

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