Malnutrition is responsible for more than half of the deaths in children under five born in developing countries (6.6 million out of 12.2 million or 54 percent).
Malnutrition
In the Philippines poverty and pervasive malnutrition are not limited to families
of deprived seasonal workers. Undernourishment is endemic and increasing throughout most
of this archipelago of some 7107 islands, and is compounded by the prevalence of intestinal
parasites and gastrointestinal diseases which health workers estimate deprive youngsters of
at least 5-10% of the nutritional value in food they do consume. This problem is particularly
prevalent in rural villages and city slums where many people eat with their fingers.
According to the Philippine Ministry of Health, nearly 1/2 of all reported deaths
are among infants and children through age 4, and about 1/2 of the accelerated death rate
among those age 5 and younger is related to malnutrition, compounded by diarrhea, measles,
and malaria which is returning to areas where it once was almost eradicated. 3 factors
critically affect a newborn's survival prospects: the family size he or she is born into;
the time or spacing between the mother's pregnancies; and the child's birth order.
Evidence indicates that, during the 1970s, as US aid and other family planning
assistance became available, they were used most among families in the 2 highest income
classes, where reduction of family size is under way. Poverty is the most fundamental
cause of malnutrition, although many other factors contribute. Land reform has brought
security of tenure and increasingly is transferring ownership of fields to former tenants
of rice and corn lands. For the former tenants enhanced security brings greater income and
better eating for the farm families retain more of the crop.
The undernourished and truly poor Filipinos number about 1/2 of the population.
Although dispersed throughout most of the archipelago, there are important regional
differences. These related to marked geographic patterns that affect fertility of the
soil, length of the dry season, fortunes of predominant crops, vulnerability to destructive
typhoons, chronic warfare and other endemic lawlessness, major debilitating diseases, and
especially population pressure.
Malnutrition is not a hidden problem. The government, almost since the proclamation
of 1972 martial law, has campaigned against malnutrition. During the 1970s, the government
developed a major program of expanded production with the result that rice production
expanded substantially. Even this achievement leaves the average Filipino short by 300
calories of food intake per day. It is not jiggering with food aid or government price
incentives that will assure that future Filipinos will have enough to eat. Only a
productive revolution of rural life that also educates mothers to know what makes for
sound family nutrition will be adequate.
Malnutrition is implicated majority of all mortalities. It is found in all
societies most commonly identified with the poor. The problem of malnutrition contributes
to half of all child deaths worldwide - a proportion unmatched by any infectious disease
since the Black Death. The Philippine Children’s Foundation can make a difference with
the help of our supporting partners. Please have compassion to help these children.
Working together we can make a difference!
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