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

Alarmingly high levels of stunting were found among children whose mother had
died (maternal orphans) in the third multi-sectoral Vulnerability Assessment carried
out in 2003 in 29 selected districts with high levels of food insecurity and high HIV/
AIDS prevalence (SETSAN, UNICEF, Pierre Martel, 2003). The assessment revealed
that maternal orphans were 50 per cent more likely to be chronically malnourished
than the general child population. Levels of severe stunting were more than double
for maternal orphans compared with other children (36 per cent versus 15 per
cent). Children whose father had died (paternal orphans), on the other hand, did not
appear to be more vulnerable than other children with regard to levels of stunting.
Unfortunately, the DHS of 2003 only measured the nutritional status of children
whose mothers were alive, therefore preventing further confirmation of the pattern
observed in the 2003 vulnerability assessment.
60
Figure 3.15: Vulnerability to chronic malnutrition among maternal orphans
%
56
40
38
36
20
15
0
Moderate and severe stunting
All children
Maternal orphans
Severe stunting
Source: SETSAN/UNICEF/Martel 2003
(iii) Wasting prevalence (acute malnutrition)
Wasting or acute malnutrition, defined on the basis of weight to height, shows
malnutrition resulting from excessive loss of weight that occurred in a recent period
due to severe illness or lack of food. This indicator is particularly dynamic, as it is very
sensitive to seasonal variations and changes in the child’s environment. In 2003, the
DHS indicated that wasting prevalence among children under the age of five was 4
per cent. There were no differences between wasting prevalence in boys and girls
and little difference according to area of residence (3.1 per cent in urban area versus
4.3 per cent in rural areas). Wasting was significantly higher among children in the
poorest households (5.6 per cent) than among children in the best off households (2.5
per cent). Provincial variations were important, with wasting prevalence as high as 7.6
per cent in Sofala province and as low as 0.5 per cent in Maputo province.
The prevalence of acute malnutrition increases steadily during the first two years
of life and only decreases after 24 months of age. This is explained by poor
breastfeeding and feeding practices in Mozambique. Breast milk is complemented, or
even replaced by foods of inadequate nutrient content, usually at far too early an age.
96 CHILDHOOD POVERTY IN MOZAMBIQUE: A SITUATION AND TRENDS ANALYSIS