Child nutrition and armed conflicts in Iraq.
The object of the study was to assess the nutritional status of children 0-5 years, who were attending maternal and child health clinics in Basrah city, 6 months after the cessation of the Gulf War, and took the form of a cross-sectional study. The study population consisted of 723 children, the majority of whom were between 0 and 36 months of age, attending maternal and child health clinics (MCHC) in Basrah city for routine immunizations. Each MCHC was visited on a separate day and all children attending on that day were included in the study. A proportion (8 per cent) of the study population were wasted, most of them in the 12-24-month age category. Twenty-four per cent of the children were stunted. Stunting and low weight-for-age were significantly higher among children of low socio-economic households. Comparison of these data with an earlier nutritional survey in the area showed that the nutritional status of children in Basrah city has deteriorated as a result of successive armed conflicts. There is need to monitor the health and nutritional status of children, and take appropriate action in order to protect them.
AlDoori
W
W
Department of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115.
Armijo-Hussein
N
N
Fawzi
W W
WW
Herrera
M G
MG
D000886:Anthropometry; D001827:Body Height / Q000502:physiology; D001835:Body Weight / Q000502:physiology; D002664:Child Nutritional Physiological Phenomena / Q000502:physiology; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007227:Infant Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007493:Iraq; D008297:Male; D009752:Nutritional Status; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014857:Warfare