Assessing childhood malnutrition in Haiti: Meeting the United Nations Millennium Development Goal #4

Abstract

Background The United Nations (UN) Millennium Developmental Goal #4 addresses needed reductions in childhood mortality. A major cause of death in Haitian children is malnutrition and starvation. Objectives Our primary objective was to identify population characteristics of children living in rural Haiti that may place them at higher risk of malnutrition than others. Armed with this knowledge, community health workers can recognize and attribute resources to those most in need. We will also examine the overall nutrition status in the population of interest and compare to the UN Millennium Goal statistics. Study design The study cohort consisted of 103 children under the age of 5 years, who were consecutively seen in a rural medical clinic from 4 communities in the Thomazeau region of Haiti over a 7-day time period. Families were asked the following five questions: (1) How many children do you have? (2) What is the birth order of this child (1st, 2nd, etc.)? (3) What is the distance between your house and clean water? (4) Do you obtain water for your family? (5) What was the highest grade you finished in school? The medical team recorded each child’s gender, age, height, weight, household size, when the last meal was eaten, and last time protein was ingested. Nutritional status was assessed using World Health Organization growth standards. The data was then analyzed to determine each child’s level of malnutrition as measured by weight-for-height Z-score (number of standard deviations [SD] below reference value), percentage of malnutrition for all children surveyed, and whether correlations existed between malnutrition level and number of siblings, household size, or location. Trends were defined as associations significant at p<0.10.