Title:
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Nutrition in an African community : The ecology of malnutrition in the Moshaneng area, Botswana
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This nutritional study took place in the rural community centred on
the village of Moshaneng in Southern District, Botswana. Arable and
livestock agriculture are the traditional economic activities in this
semi-arid environment in which highly seasonal and unreliable rainfall
has a great impact upon settlement, economic activity and physical
conditions.
The primary objectives of fieldwork. were to assess nutritional status
and to investigate the social, cultural, economic and physical
environmental factors contributing to poor nutrition. As an
ecological study, the main aim was to describe the multifactorial
causes of malnutrition and the relationships between factors.
Nutritional anthropometry was used to assess the nutritional status of
children. Weight and height were the principal measurements.
Subsequently, through three major questionnaire surveys, data were
gathered on a) aspects of child care, maternal characteristics and
perception, health status and dietary intake; b) household demographic
structure, economic profile and economic status, food production,
purchase and consumption, education and migration of household
members; c) involvement in arable and livestock agriculture,
constraints on food production, access to and quality of land,
varieties of crops and production over.several seasons. Traditional
beliefs and practices concerning diet, disease causation and
treatment, and the social organisation of the community were also
major areas of investigation.
The majority of children were of poor nutritional status and mild to
moderate protein-energy malnutrition (P.E.M.) affected approximately
one third of the children assessed. At the individual level, poor
weaning practices, inadequate supplementation of breast-fed children
and inadequate qualitative and quantitative intake of food were
identified as factors contributing to P.E.M.. Serious illness was
widespread: respiratory infections, diarrhoea and skin infections were
the major ailments. Illness and growth records show how recurrent and
severe infections are interrelated with P.E.M. amongst children in
this community. The vulnerability of children and their mothers is
increased by high rates of illegitimacy and the lack of financial
support from children's fathers. There were some misconceptions held
about the appropriate foods for children but the main constraints to a
better diet are economic and not educational.
At the household and community levels several factors conspire to
reinforce poverty, illhealth and an inadequate diet. Arable
agricultural production is unable to meet the food needs of the local
population who are forced to subsist on imported cereal staples of low
quality: few households are self-sufficient in staple foods even in
good years. Physical environmental factors, notably drought, poor
soils and pests, reduce potential for arable agriculture but social
and economic factors are the main constraints: inadequate and costly
draught power and extensive, sub-optimal cropping systems. Highly
maldistributed livestock ownership exacerbates the economic
inequalities within the community and deprives many of access to milk,
meat, draught power, and finance. Labour migration is a response to
low returns from the traditional economiC sector but may increase the
vulnerabilty of residual households.
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