Michael Latham, professor emeritus and graduate professor of nutritional sciences, gave the keynote address Nov. 19 at the "One Asia Forum on Child Feeding in Emergencies," held in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Nov. 18-21.

His talked addressed the benefits of breastfeeding, which he said is a natural way to foster the health of infants and, in some cases, can be life saving.

Following the ceremony, Latham and other delegates at the meeting attended an formal dinner, where Latham met with President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the first lady of Sri Lanka at the president's residence.

"Asian countries in the last few years have suffered many emergencies and disasters resulting in numerous deaths, including among children," Latham said. "Sri Lanka itself suffered seriously from the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004 and this year, following the conclusion of the civil war, has large numbers of displaced persons in camps." He added that the tsunami also seriously affected Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Maldives, while recent major earthquakes in Indonesia and China, flooding in Myanmar and the Philippines and war in Afghanistan and Pakistan have affected impact children throughout the continent. "The main objective of the forum was to discuss and develop guidelines for young child feeding in emergencies," he said.

The forum was attended by representatives from 17 Asian countries; Latham, a physician, was the only American to attend. Latham directed Cornell's Program in International Nutrition for 25 years and remains active in the Division of Nutritional Sciences, the Graduate School and in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.