Survey of the health and nutrition status of a squatter community in Khayelitsha.
The findings of a nutrition and health survey in Site B, a squatter area in Khayelitsha close to Cape Town, are reported. Of the children under 6 years, 16.8% were found to be under weight for age, 23.5% were stunted and 2.5% wasted, indicating a serious nutritional crisis in this community. Children with a low-birth-weight had a 3 times greater risk of being under weight for age and a 2 times greater risk of being stunted than children with birth-weights greater than 2,500 g. Of the children born outside Cape Town, 21.9% were under weight for age compared with 13.5% of children born in Cape Town. Of the pre-school children, 4.2% had completed or were on antituberculosis treatment compared with 2% of the children in the age group 6-18 years and 3.2% of adults. Sixty per cent of the pre-school children with tuberculosis were under weight for age. Half the adult population was fully employed, and 22% of households had no wage earners. Assuming literacy after 4 years of schooling, 76% of the adults were literate, but only 2.5% had completed Standard 10. Women were generally better qualified than men.
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Philani Nutrition Centre, Crossroads, CP.
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D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006306:Health Surveys; D006798:Housing; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D009749:Nutrition Surveys; D009752:Nutritional Status; D011203:Poverty; D013019:South Africa; D014505:Urban Population