Research Paper (undergraduate) from the year 2022 in the subject Biology - Diseases, Health, Nutrition, , language: English, abstract: Major problems facing under five children in Tanzania are overnutrition and undernutrition the latter being the leading one, according to the Tanzania National Nutrition Survey (TNNS) 2018, 31,8 percent of under-five children are stunted, which is a significant decrease from 34,7 percent in 2014, it was approximated that the number of children who were acute malnourished had increased from 440,000 in 2014 to 530,000 in 2018. At the national level, the prevalence of underweight among children aged 0-59 months was at 14,6 percent in 2018, which was significantly higher than the 13,4 percent in 2014, 2,8 percent of under-five children are overweight and large number being found in urban areas. Firstly, to investigate the socio-economic, cultural, and environmental factors contributing to malnutrition in Mwanza Region. Secondly, to explore food preparation practices and their impact on nutrient retention, and adequacy and access nutrition status. Lastly, to identify feeding practices, including breastfeeding and complementary feeding, and their association with under-5 malnutrition A cross-sectional study design was established, that employed quantitative and qualitative approach. Data were collected using semi structured questionnaires, by using cross sectional study design. A total of 440 respondents were involved in the study. The information obtained was then analyzed using EXCEL, SPSS Version 20 and ENA for SMART Programme and interpreted by using the WHO Standards (2006). The converted nutritional data were transformed into Z-scores of the indices; height-for-age, weight-for-height and weight-for-age to identify associated factors of malnutrition.

Malnutrition is associated with an inadequate diet, poor health and sanitation services, and insufficient care for young children. A combination of income growth and nutrition interventions are therefore suggested to adequately tackle this issue, yet evidence to support this claim is often not available, especially for African settings. The authors evaluate the joint contribution of income growth and nutrition interventions toward the reduction of malnutrition. Using a four-round panel data set from northwestern Tanzania they estimate the determinants of a child's nutritional status, including household income and the presence of nutrition interventions in the community. The results show that better nutrition is associated with higher income, and that nutrition interventions have a substantial beneficial effect. Policy simulations make clear that if one intends to halve malnutrition rates by 2015 (the Millennium Development Goals objective), income growth will have to be complemented by large-scale program interventions.

Odisha has shown progress in many indicators but under-nutrition including hidden hunger still stands as a challenge for the State. Undernutrition is a leading contributor to infant, child and maternal mortality and morbidity. Since malnutrition is indirectly responsible for 69% of child deaths in the country, it is extremely crucial to focus on improving maternal and child nutrition for ensuring their survival and development. My heartfelt congratulations to AIIMS, Bhubaneswar for rolling out a Fellowship Course on Public Health Nutrition through RCAPHN in such a record time. Over the years significantly effective strategies and programmes have been formulated and implemented which have started to yield positive results in reducing malnutrition. Therefore, it is important that every stakeholder who is a part of the system and plays an important role in addressing the issues related to health and nutrition must essentially be aware of the key nutrition actions and interventions. All health care providers who interact with mothers and young children should acquire the basic knowledge and skills on infant and young child feeding principles, management of severe acute malnutrition, iodine deficiency disorder, management of iron deficiency and management of vit-A deficiency. I would like to congratulate all the technical members of RCAPHN involved in developing this comprehensive package on nutrition components and themes which will excel the knowledge of public health students. I encourage all to use this handbook as a commendable resource material. The technical modules on nutrition components will help in enhancing the knowledge and skills of public health functionaries and enable them to understand and implement the interventions successfully.

Improving Young Child Feeding in Eastern and Southern Africa

CHILD MALNUTRITION ASSOCIATED WITH SAFE FOOD PREPARATION BEHAVIORS OF MOTHER IN BENIN, SUB-SAHARAN AFRICAAuthors: Chikako NAGAHORI , RN, PHN, PhDuff11, Yoshihide KINJO, PhDuff11, VODOUNON A. Joseph, MD, PhD 2, ALAO Maroufou Jules , MD, PhD 2, PADONOU BATOSSI Geneviu00e8ve, MD, MPH2, HOUNKPATIN Benjamin, MD, PhD 2, AMOULE HOUENASSI Eve, RMW,RD2 and Taro YAMAUCHI, PhD3Institutions: 1Department of Nursing, Tsukuba International University, Tsuchiura, Japan, 2Department of Nursing , Okinawa Prefectural College of Nursing, Naha, Japan, 3Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de la Mu00e8re et de l'Enfant Lagune de Cotonou, Benin, 4Faculty of Health Sciences, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan, Summary ObjectiveMalnutrition continues to contribute to a high under five mortality rate. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the nutritional status and factors associated with malnutrition in children aged under five years old who live in Cotonou, Republic of Benin and investigate the safe food preparation behaviors of their mothers.Subjects and MethodsMothers (n = 300) were interviewed using a structured questionnaire. Height (H), length (L), and weight (W) measurements of the child were determined along with Z-scores (Z) of WHO child growth standards. Childrenu2019s nutritional status data to be used for analysis was evaluated using corrected age in the case of premature infants born before gestational week 36 or children under age 1 (n=49).ResultsThe prevalence of stunting (H/LAZ