Africa-Press – Mozambique. Chronic malnutrition continues to affect 38% of children under five years old in Mozambique, according to the latest survey by the National Statistics Institute (INE), consulted on Tuesday by Lusa.
The supplement on nutrition of the 2019/20 Household Budget Survey also reveals that in 16.5 percent of cases, malnutrition is very severe.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), cited in the document, the levels observed are classified as “very high”.
Chronic malnutrition results from a lack of adequate food, retards children’s growth and development and increases the risk of child mortality – broadly speaking, it is a marker of inequalities in human development.
The situation was worse in 2011 and 2013, the document notes.
There was a nearly halving of prevalence in children under six months old and there was also a drop in chronic malnutrition in the south of the country.
Still, the scenario motivates several warnings.
The survey indicates that chronic malnutrition occurs at “very high” levels in children over 12 months of age and affects “male children” more.
Children living in rural areas suffer more from chronic malnutrition, at “very high” levels compared to those living in urban areas, at levels classified as “medium”.
Children living in households whose leaders have no or only primary schooling are more affected by chronic malnutrition.
The distribution per province shows differences: all provinces in the central and northern zone show prevalences at “very high” levels, with Nampula province having the most severe situation.
The southern provinces have prevalences ranging from ‘medium’ to ‘low’ levels in Maputo province.
The nutrition supplement of the 2019/20 Household Budget Survey was based on a sample of 13,343 households.
For More News And Analysis About Mozambique Follow Africa-Press
