Malnutrition in Ethiopia has a dramatic negative impact on the lives of children. Various reports show the national trends of stunting, wasting and being underweight at 44.4, 9.7 and 28.7pc, respectively. Nutritional indices indicate that there is a lack of iron, iodine and Vitamin A in Ethiopian foods, which contributes to these national public health problems.
Malnutrition is a cyclical problem that begins during pregnancy and heightens at adolescence. In addition, over time, malnutrition has transformed into a chronic handicap that harms children’s futures.
Half the children suffering from malnutrition in northern Ethiopia do not die. Ultimately, however, these children have fewer educational and skills learning opportunities.
Without healthy children, Ethiopia will continue to produce unproductive members of society, unable to maintain sufficient lifestyles or contribute to the economic development of the country. For this reason, it is critical that Ethiopia’s National Nutrition Programme (NNP) emphasises the value of pregnant women’s nutrition culturally, as it pertains to feeding patterns and nutritional services.
The Micronutrient Initiative revealed that two-thirds of pregnant women do not receive any health or nutrition counselling from a trained antenatal care provider. Moreover, almost no pregnant women take iron supplements, despite the high rates of anaemia and the risk it presents in Ethiopia.
In 2005, the government reported that 0.1pc of pregnant of women were supplemented with less than 90 tabs of iron foliate during their last birth. Next, the government found that anaemia is most prevalent amongst pregnant women aged between 15 and 49.
This is problematic because most women are married and pregnant at 16. Therefore, there is a trend of young women with iron deficiencies giving birth to children who are vulnerable to the same or greater nutritional challenges as their mothers.
Malnutrition influences children’s academic performance in schools. For example, many children are unable to pay attention in school. In Shimider, a city in northern Ethiopia, many children become intellectually stunted adults and lose up to 15 IQ points, as they are unable to learn or even concentrate. This causes many malnourished children to drop out of school at an early age.
Providing more skilled physicians to communities with pregnant woman that are anaemic can reduce iron deficiencies in women and their children. According to the Micronutrient Initiative, today in Ethiopia only seven percent of women give birth under the guidance of a skilled doctor or nurse.
Pregnant women are unaware of the required prenatal treatment and feeding practices that they should adopt during their pregnancy. The Micronutrient Initiative and the Federal Food, Medicine and Health Care Administration & Control Authority (FMHACA) have begun monitoring the safety of micronutrient supplements, including iron. Increasing the number of gynaecological physicians in Ethiopia will improve women’s access to the nutritional supplements required to give birth to healthy children that do not suffer from issues, such as low birth rate.
Integrating health education, as it pertains to nutritional deficiencies, into colleges can improve women and children’s access to trained local healthcare providers. Many members of society are unable to enter professional jobs due to the plight of malnutrition.
Since malnutrition hinders the number of productive members of society, prioritising the training of young adults in school to address nutritional trends and health risks can alleviate the number of children that are unable to pursue skills trade opportunities. In such a case, training young adults locally will help to reduce nutritional deficiencies at the inception of pregnancy.
To reverse the alarming trend of malnutrition, the government should consider expanding the Social Cash Transfer Programme to provide food with nutritional supplies in schools. The programme can supplement food insecurity amongst the severely poor and labour constrained.
Children who are unable to receive food with essential nutrients can receive these foods in school. This will allow them to stay awake in class and obtain the training they need to advance in society.
Malnutrition in Ethiopia has reduced the lives of children academically and professionally. Without foods of high nutritional value, children are unable to become productive members of Ethiopian society. Furthermore, they are unable to help improve the growth of the national economy.
This challenge begins with pregnant mothers who already suffer anaemia due to iron deficiencies. These trends can be effectively addressed through policy solutions that concern access to physicians, health education and structural adjustment programs.
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