Year: 2007
Type: article
Abstract: We must not fail the children of AfricaIn the closing statement of a magnificent plenary lecture at the Durban International Congress of Nutrition in 2005, Professor Alan A Jackson stated with great emphasis what we all know as a chilling truth: We have failed the children of Africa!And we have.Under five mortality rates in Western and Central Africa are the highest in the world, according to UNICEF 1 .In this region, one out five children do not live to see their fifth birthday.Problems are also huge in Eastern and Southern Africa.Two reviews on child development from the International Child Development Steering Group (ICDSG) have been published this year in the Lancet 2,3 .According to ICDSG, the magnitude of the problem is immense: about 200 million children under 5 years of age are unable to reach their potential in cognitive and psychosocial development.Failing to reach this developmental potential is likely to perpetuate the vicious circles of poverty and low education.The ICDSG points out the following four causes: malnutrition (stunting), deficiency of iron, deficiency of iodine, and lack of stimulation in infancy.The ICDSG 2 reveals the following prevalences among children in developing countries during the first five years of life: stunting 31%, mild-to-severe iodine deficiency 35%, iron-deficiency anaemia 23 -33%.Poverty, armed conflict, crop failure, climate change, displacement and inequity within and between countries obviously do not help.We look forward to the third ICDSG review, pointing out possible strategies for the future.In previous years, the Bellagio Study Group on Child Survival published several ground-breaking papers on child survival and nutrition transition 5,6 , valuable material for all nutrition educators and policy planners.A follow-up meeting is planned for this year.
Source: Public Health Nutrition
Author: Roger Hughes
Language: English
Subfield: Nutrition and Dietetics
Field: Nursing
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W2045185960