Chronically Undernourished Mothers and Children
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Chronically Undernourished Mothers and Children
Chronically Undernourished Mothers and Children
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Undernutrition contributes to the deaths of about 5.6
million children under five in the developing world each year. It can
lead to poor school performance and dropout, it threatens girls' future
ability to bear healthy children and it perpetuates a generational cycle
of poverty.
Progress for Children reports on the world's performance in
improving nutrition in young children, a crucial step towards meeting the
Millennium Development Goals. |
| Name: Chronically Undernourished Mothers and Children |
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| Theme: |
Region and Country: Maharashtra, India |
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Good nutrition is the cornerstone for survival, health
and development for current and succeeding generations. Well-nourished
children perform better in school, grow into healthy adults and in turn
give their children a better start in life. Well-nourished women face
fewer risks during pregnancy and childbirth, and their children set off
on firmer developmental paths, both physically and mentally.
If mothers are this important to the welfare of children, it should
be obvious that their physical and mental well-being should be safeguarded.
But the reality is different. Fatigue is the commonest chronic health
problem for women - not surprisingly. In the poor world, women produce at
least 50% of the food, as well as being responsible for all the domestic
tasks. Childbearing adds a third workload; by the age of 30, a women has
often spent 80% of her adult life pregnant or breastfeeding.
Hard work, childbearing and undernourishment lead to anemia.
In poor countries, half of all women, and two thirds of pregnant women, are
anemic.
The value of women's unpaid labour in industrialised countries is estimated
as 25 - 40% of GNP. In the world as a whole, it is estimated as one -third
of the world's economic product.
Discrimination by wealth begins even before birth. Poor,
undernourished mothers are more likely to give birth to undernourished babies
- and small, weak babies are more susceptible to illness and death.
Low birthweight babies are 4 - 6 times more susceptible to physical and
mental handicap, and 8 - 10 times more likely to die in the first year of
life.
Undernutrition is implicated in more than half of all child deaths worldwide.
Undernourished children have lowered resistance to infection; they are more
likely to die from common childhood ailments like diarrhoeal diseases and
respiratory infections, and for those who survive, frequent illness saps
their nutritional status, locking them into a vicious cycle of recurring
sickness and faltering growth. Their plight is largely invisible: three
quarters of the children who die from causes related to malnutrition were
only mildly or moderately undernourished, showing no outward sign of their
vulnerability.
Poverty, low levels of education, and poor access to health services are
major contributors to childhood malnutrition, a complex issue that requires
tackling on a wide number of fronts. To name only a few:
Ensuring food security for poor households, both enough food and the right
kinds of food
Educating families to understand the special nutritional needs of young
children, notably the value of breastfeeding and the importance of
introducing suitable complementary foods at the right age
Protecting children from infections, by such measures as immunization against
common childhood diseases and provision of safe water and sanitation;
Ensuring that children receive quality care when they fall ill
Shielding them from the micronutrient deficiencies that can bring death and
disability, especially iodine, iron and vitamin A deficiencies
Paying special attention to the nutritional needs of girls and women, since
chronically undernourished women tend to bear low-birthweight babies and so
perpetuate the vicious cycle of undernutrition into the next generation
The underlying causes of undernutrition vary across regions. In many Asian
countries poverty, the low status of women, poor care during pregnancy, high
rates of low birth weight, high population densities, unfavorable child
caring practices, and poor access to health care are underlying causes. In
Sub-Saharan Africa, extreme poverty, inadequate caring practices for
children, low levels of education and poor access to health services are
among the major factors causing undernutrition. Conflicts and natural
disasters in many countries have further exacerbated the situation. The
increase in the number of undernourished children in Africa also reflects a
rapid rate of population growth. In many countries in Africa, the devastating
effects of HIV/AIDS, particularly in the second half of the decade, have
reversed some of the gains made in the decade's early years.
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20 March, 2009
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