Global Study On Child Poverty And Disparities (PDF) - Social Policy ...

Table 3.1: Child nutrition outcomes and their correlates, 2007
(Children age 0-59 months who are severely or moderately undernourished)
Underweight Stunting Wasting Obesity
Weight Weight Height Height Weight Weight Weight
for age: for age: for age: for age: for height: for height: for height:
Background
% below % below % below % below % below % below % above
characteristics
-2 SD* -3 SD -2 SD** -3 SD* -2 SD*** -3 SD +2 SD
Number
of
children
Sex Male 18.3 1.9 23.4 7.0 7.0 1.1 2.4 620
Female 13.4 2.5 16.6 6.6 5.9 1.6 2.3 580
Region Tafea 11.4 1.7 17.7 6.9 1.1 0.6 2.9 175
Shefa 12.7 0.6 16.5 5.1 5.7 0.0 1.9 158
Malampa 15.7 2.8 23.1 6.5 4.6 0.9 1.9 108
Penama 21.8 0.8 21.0 3.4 7.6 2.5 3.4 119
Sanma 19.6 3.6 22.3 8.9 11.6 1.8 0.9 112
Torba 19.0 4.0 15.1 3.2 8.7 0.0 0.8 126
Port Vila 13.3 3.2 22.3 10.4 7.6 3.2 3.6 278
Luganville 23.4 1.6 16.9 7.3 9.7 0.8 3.2 124
Residence Urban 15.2 2.9 21.3 9.8 7.9 2.8 3.5 402
Rural 16.1 2.0 19.9 6.1 6.1 1.0 2.1 798
Age < 6 months 2.2 0.0 3.0 0.0 0.4 0.0 3.0 80
6-11 months 6.4 0.9 4.1 1.8 6.3 1.8 4.5 137
12-23 months 26.0 3.4 25.9 7.3 14.3 2.4 1.9 275
24-35 months 17.9 2.4 20.5 7.9 4.1 0.5 2.2 244
36-47 months 11.3 1.4 20.9 7.4 3.9 1.3 0.0 253
48-59 months 16.8 2.9 28.7 10.2 3.7 1.2 4.2 211
Mother's
education
None 21.0 3.1 26.9 12.1 7.9 1.9 5.8 90
Primary 17.3 2.5 20.1 7.0 6.5 1.5 1.9 709
Secondary 11.6 1.3 18.1 4.9 5.9 0.9 2.2 399
Non-standard (*) (*) (*) (*) (*) (*) (*) 2
Wealth index
quintiles
Q1 (poorest) 18.1 4.6 23.2 9.9 6.1 1.0 2.3 226
Q2 20.5 2.0 18.4 5.0 9.0 0.8 0.9 233
Source: MICS 2007.* MICS indicator 6, MDG indicator 4; ** MICS indicator 7; *** MICS indicator 8; (*) per cent count has been
suppressed as the Figure is based on fewer than 25 unweighted cases; § three missing cases.
There is a broadly consistent age pattern across
measures of nutritional status: children under six
months have the lowest rates of poor nutrition
status for all indices; and generally, a higher
proportion of children age 12-23 months are
undernourished, in comparison to those who
are younger and older than this age range,
except for severe stunting where older age
groups, particularly those age 48 to 59 months,
are more likely to experience problems. The
better outcomes for children under six months
is likely to be due to adequate nutrition during
breastfeeding, with this then declining from the
age at which many children cease to be breastfed
and are potentially exposed to contamination in
water, food and the environment, or inadequate
complementary feeding (GoV, 2007a).
Gender outcomes also show a mixed pattern,
with boys more likely to be moderately
underweight, stunted or wasted, but generally
experiencing less severe nutrition deprivation,
except stunting.
Analysis
As noted earlier, most of the rural population
relies on subsistence agriculture. This appears to
provide adequate food security for the population,
although some families may not consume
adequate protein. There is also fishing and
poultry rearing in traditional subsistence farming.
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