Demographic and Health Survey 2009-10 - Timor-Leste Ministry of ...

NUTRITION OF CHILDREN AND WOMEN 12
This chapter reviews the nutritional status of children and women in Timor-Leste. The
specific topics discussed are (1) infant and young child feeding practices, including breastfeeding and
feeding with solid/semi-solid foods; (2) quantity and quality of foods, including their diversity and
frequency; (3) micronutrient intake and food supplementation among children and women; (4) night
blindness among children, and (5) anemia among women and children. The section also covers
anthropometric assessment of the nutritional status of children under 5 years of age and the nutritional
status of women 15-49 years of age.
The poor nutritional status of children and women has been a serious problem in Timor-Leste
for many years. The most common forms of malnutrition in the country are protein energy
malnutrition (PEM) and micronutrient deficiencies. The National Nutrition Strategy, developed in
2004, provides comprehensive documentation of the country’s goals (MOH, 2004c). In addition, the
country has drafted a breastfeeding policy, a National Salt Law, and Infant and Young Child Feeding
(IYCF) strategies . Several programs with an explicit nutrition component have been launched in the
country under the initiative of the Directorate of Community Health and through the Nutrition
Department of the Ministry of Health. The major partners in initiating programs to address the
problem of malnutrition are the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the World Food Program
(WFP), USAID, CARE International, Oxfam, World Vision, Concern, Alola Foundation, Medico do
Mundo (MDM), TAIS (Timor-Leste Asistensia Integradu Saude), and other international and national
nongovernmental organizations. The findings in the following section are highlighted with respect to
these initiatives.
12.1 NUTRITIONAL STATUS OF CHILDREN
Anthropometric data on height and weight collected in the 2009-10 TLDHS permit the
analysis and evaluation of the nutritional status of young children in Timor-Leste. This analysis
allows identification of subgroups in the population that are at increased risk of faltered growth,
disease, impaired mental and physical development, and death. The nutritional status of young
children and women of reproductive age reflects household, community, and national development.
Children and women in developing countries are most vulnerable to malnutrition because of
inadequate dietary intake, infectious diseases, inadequate access to appropriate health care, and
inequitable distribution of food within the household.
12.1.1 Nutritional Status of Children
The 2009-10 TLDHS included information on the nutritional status of children less than age 5
for three indices: weight-for-age, height-for-age, and weight-for-height. Weight measurements were
taken using a lightweight electronic SECA scale with a digital screen, designed and manufactured
under the guidance of UNICEF, and height measurements were carried out using a measuring board
from Shorr Productions. Children younger than 24 months were measured lying down (recumbent
length) on the board, while standing height was measured for older children. The scale allowed for the
weighing of very young children through an automatic mother-child adjustment that eliminated the
mother’s weight while she was standing on the scale with her baby.
The nutritional status of children in the survey population is compared with the WHO Child
Growth Standards, which are based on an international sample (from Brazil, Ghana, India, Norway,
Oman, and the United States) of ethnically, culturally, and genetically diverse healthy children living
under optimum conditions conducive to achieving a child’s full genetic growth potential (WHO,
2006). The WHO Child Growth Standards are used here instead of the former NCHS/CDC/WHO
Nutrition of Children and Women | 147