‘No clear plan’ to stop child malnutrition

Published Aug 12, 2014

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Cape Town - Malnutrition is threatening the future of many young children, causing irreversible harm to their physical and intellectual development, the Human Sciences and Research Council has warned in a report.

The report, “Child Health: Improving the quality of care during the first 1 000 days”, includes research and evaluation by specialists in the government and at the council.

According to Lynn Moeng, the Department of Health’s chief director of health promotion and nutrition, evaluations found “there are no clear linkages of nutritional programmes, and no clear referral systems”.

If health workers found a child was underweight, they were not sure where the social systems were that could support the child and did not know where to refer the family for food security.

“In most of the provinces it was found that although… there is a nutrition budget, it is not clear what it is used for.”

Dr Nonhlanhla Dlamini, the department’s chief director of child health, highlighted that malnutrition is interrelated with infections and diseases. “The data says children under five are dying of diarrhoea, pneumonia, Aids and tuberculosis. Of these children, 65 percent were malnourished and 35 percent of these had severe malnutrition.”

Also, if a child had borderline nutrition, but then developed a condition like colic diarrhoea, the illness would “tip them right over into full-blown malnutrition”.

Responding to the report, Mark Walker, director of the Peninsula School Feeding Association, says the harm done by malnutrition in the first 1 000 days of life, starting from conception, caused stunting, which was irreversible.

“During that crucial period of a child’s life, the body needs enough vitamins, minerals and nutrients to maintain healthy tissue and build organs. If the organs aren’t developing normally, you get the worst effects of malnutrition.”

A child who experienced malnutrition would, as an adult, experience “physical and intellectual limitations”.

Another problem was “hidden hunger”, which occurred when a child was fed a diet the parents believed was “normal” and which might even make the child fat, Walker said.

“If you don’t provide those three things – vitamins, minerals and nutrients – you can end up with a malnourished child.”

According to Leanne Keats, director of the NGO Masikhule, which provides training in early childhood development, policy fails to “filter down to the clinics attended by pregnant women, mothers and caregivers”.

“The lack of information is around breastfeeding, the introduction of solids – and what solids – and making wise nutritional choices when pregnant.”

Many families “do not have the facilities like fridges and freezers to keep food fresh and therefore avoid purchasing fresh food”.

Parents often purchased inexpensive junk food such as crisps, which simply made the child more hungry, leading to the buying of more junk food.

Cape Times

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