Child Poverty in Mozambique. A Situation and Trend ... - Unicef

In general, the coastal provinces make the least use of iodised salt and the interior
provinces (with the exception of Niassa) make the most use of iodised salt. The
relatively high level of iodised salt consumption in Tete and Manica provinces might
be related to the proximity of these provinces to transport corridors bringing imported
iodised salt from Botswana and South Africa.
The use of iodised salt is slightly higher among rural households (55 per cent) than
urban households (50 per cent). The low use of iodised salt in Maputo City (40 per
cent) indicates the lack of awareness among the population about the benefits of
iodised salt. The DHS results show very little variations between the poorest and
best-off households in terms of use of adequately iodised salt. The probability of
encountering adequately iodised salt is only slightly higher among the best-off
households (58 per cent) than the poorest households (51 per cent). Non-iodised
salt is usually slightly cheaper than iodised salt. However, in Maputo City where
93 per cent of households fall within the best off quintile, it could be expected that
households could afford the price difference and would change their salt purchasing
habits, if aware of the benefits of iodised salt.
(ii) Vitamin A deficiency
Vitamin A improves children’s resistance to infection such as diarrhoeal diseases, ARI,
measles and malaria. Severe Vitamin A Deficiency (VAD) can lead to poor eyesight
and blindness. In 2002, the National Survey on Vitamin A Deficiency and Anaemia
indicated that 69 per cent of children 6-59 months were suffering from vitamin A
deficiency, 14 per cent in a severe form. Thus, VAD constitutes a serious public health
problem, particularly as it is associated with increased susceptibility to several types
of infectious diseases, which in turn impacts on infant mortality (MISAU 2002). For
example, the 2002 national survey indicated the prevalence of vitamin A deficiency in
anaemic children (75 per cent) was significantly higher than in those without anaemia
(50 per cent). These vitamin A deficient children also showed a significantly higher
risk of being infected with the malaria parasite.
High-dose vitamin A supplementation is one method of improving the vitamin A
status of children and women. Because breastfeeding is critical for the vitamin A
status of infants, the provision of vitamin A supplementation to new, breastfeeding
mothers (up to 8 weeks post-partum) helps protect the infant during the first
months of life, when the risk of mortality is at its highest. Since March 2002, a
programme of vitamin A supplementation was introduced as part of the routine
child health consultations and in the mobile health teams for EPI. That same year,
post-partum Vitamin A supplementation was introduced in Maputo province and
was later extended in 2004 to maternity clinics in provincial capitals and to some
maternity clinics in rural hospitals. The Mozambican national protocol of high-dose
vitamin A supplementation recommends that children from 6 to 59 months receive
supplementation of vitamin A every 6 months and women post-partum receive one
dose of vitamin A within 6 weeks of delivery. 39
In 2003, the DHS reviewed vitamin A supplementation coverage among children and
women. It indicated that 50 per cent of children received vitamin A supplementation
in the six months prior to the survey.
38 It is not clear from the 2003 DHS report whether the salt tested in households was tested for adequacy level of iodine (i.e. minimum of 25
parts of iodine per million according to the national standards). This analysis therefore uses the expression “use of iodised salt” rather than “use
of adequately iodised salt”.
39 High-dose of vitamin A for children 6-11 months old is 100,000 IU, while it is 200,000 IU for children 12-59 months old and post-partum
women.
CHILDHOOD POVERTY IN MOZAMBIQUE: A SITUATION AND TRENDS ANALYSIS
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