Disaster relief officials are closely monitoring an outbreak of malnutrition on Koro Island in Fiji.
National Disaster Management Office co-ordinator on the island Jioji Satakala confirmed the outbreak was among children.
Satakala said of the 24 cases on the island, 13 children with ages ranging from six months to five years were suffering from malnutrition in Tuatua Village.
He said the island had very limited food sources because most had been destroyed during Severe Tropical Cyclone Winston.
He said the outbreak affected children the most because of the wrong food types being given to them on the island.
“Children are supposed to have five meals per day so children are only taking three meals and no juice.
“These people (parents) tend to give the adult food to the kids, that's another cause.”
He said the children were initially given staple food after the disaster, but that had stopped because of limited supply.
Satakala said NDMO had constructed feeding tents in the 14 villages around the island where parents could feed their children.
He said officials were now adding vitamins to children's food to give it more nutritional value.
“This has been taken care of by the health officials. They are taking tour of the villages and talking to parents.
“We have provided the families with feeding centres. It is one tent per village where parents can feed their children,” he said