Cape Town - Malnutrition is a major underlying cause of death in 64 percent of South Africa’s children under the age of five, Unicef South Africa has found.
One in five children are stunted and many are deficient in the vitamins and minerals vital to good health and optimal development, the organisation claimed.
Unicef South Africa said that every year about 75 000 children do not make it to their fifth birthday, and 75 percent of newborn babies die in their first week of life.
“Malnutrition is high and contributes to 64 percent of all deaths in children under the age of five,” it said.
At the same time, an SA National Health and Examination survey showed that stunted growth in children is one of the main indicators of malnutrition.
Dr Dominique Stott, the executive of medical standards and services at Professional Provident Society, said when young children lacked proper protein, their growth was stunted.
“Malnourishment in young children can also lead to mental and emotional retardation, and these children will not go through the proper stages of children learning to sit and walk at a certain age.
“Children who suffer from malnutrition are also prone to more infections, such as TB, gastroenteritis and diarrhoea.
“Gastroenteritis can cause a child to become dehydrated and die,” she said. Malnutrition also prevents toddlers’ immune systems from coping with illnesses that healthy children their age can survive.
Stott said the critical age for proper nutrition for children started from the time the mother fell pregnant.
By the time a child reached the age of two, proper nutrition was essential for the brain to grow correctly and proteins were essential to develop healthy bones and organs.
Without them, malnourished toddlers live with irreversible problems.
“As adults they can experience stunted growth. They could reach their sexual milestone (development) later in life, develop eye problems and even epilepsy.
“If these children are not helped in the first 1 000 days of life, it can often be too late to restore their full health,” Stott said.
According to Unicef, the country’s health authorities were making efforts to fight malnutrition. Key vitamins and minerals had been added to wheat flour, maize flour and retail sugar in accordance with mandatory regulations that came into effect in 2003.
Salt for human consumption is also iodised. Birth defects have dropped by more than a third as a result of folic acid fortification.
Last month, the cabinet approved an evaluation titled “Nutrition for Children Under Five”, which assessed 18 nutrition interventions by various government departments. The aim was to assist the government in improving nutrition interventions for children from conception up to the age of five.
Sithembiso Magubane, communications officer for the province’s District Health Services and Programmes, said the Western Cape Department of Health had implemented a range of interventions that addresses malnutrition.
The Peninsula School Feeding Association has been feeding underprivileged pupils across the province since 1958.
Association spokesman Charles Gray said they currently feed 25 000 children at 141 education institutes.
They recently implemented their feeding scheme at early childhood development centres in Grabouw, including crèches and day cares usually run by community members.
The scheme feeds 300 toddlers at various centres, but hopes to increase this number.
Cape Times