Demographic

The majority of births in the five years beforethe survey were delivered in a health facility(74 percent). The births took place more oftenin public health facilities (43 percent) than inMission or other private health facilities. Twelvepercent of births were assisted by a doctor, 62percent by a nurse or nursing assistant, and 5percent by a traditional birth attendant. Eightpercent of births were delivered by caesareansection.Twenty-five percent of mothers received apostnatal checkup for the most recent birth in thefive years preceding the survey, with 22 percenthaving the checkup within the critical 48 hoursafter delivery.BREASTFEEDING AND NUTRITIONOverall, 87 percent of children in Swazilandare breastfed for some period of time (everbreastfed). The median duration of any breastfeedingin Swaziland is almost 17 months. However,the median duration of exclusive breastfeedingis much shorter (0.7 months).Appropriate infant and young child feeding(IYCF) practices include increasing the amountand variety of foods a child consumes as it getsolder, while maintaining frequent breastfeeding.Seven in ten children age 6-23 months in Swazilandwere fed according to the recommendedminimum standards with respect to food diversity.Among breastfed children age 6-23 months,about three-quarters were fed according to theminimum standards (consumed foods from 3 ormore food groups), while, among non-breastfedchildren age 6-23 months, only 60 percent werefed according to the minimum standards (consumedfoods from 4 or more food groups).Overall, 42 percent of children age 6-59months have some degree of anaemia. Aboutone in five children are mildly anaemic, 19 percenthave moderate anaemia and less than 1 percenthave severe anaemia. The proportion ofchildren age 5-11 years with some degree ofanaemia is 18 percent; less than 1 percent ofthese children are severely anaemic. The nationalprevalence of anaemia among childrenage 12-14 years is virtually identical to thatamong children age 5-11 years, and a majority ofthese children are mildly anaemic (17 percent).Thirty percent of women age 15-49 have somedegree of anaemia, with the majority classified asmildly anaemic (23 percent). Less than 1 percent ofthese women are considered severely anaemic. Pregnantwomen are more likely to be anaemic (40 percent)than breastfeeding women (29 percent) or womenwho are neither pregnant nor breastfeeding (30percent). This could be a result of the high demand ofiron and folate during pregnancy. Men age 15-49 aresubstantially less likely to be anaemic than womenthe same age (13 percent and 30 percent, respectively),and less than 1 percent of these men are consideredseverely anaemic. Women and men age 50and over show a pattern that is the reverse of thatseen for women and men age 15-49, with men age 50and over substantially more likely to be anaemic thantheir female counterparts (31 percent and 21 percent,respectively).At the time of the survey, 29 percent of childrenunder age five were stunted (short for their age), 3percent were wasted (thin for their height), and 5 percentwere underweight (thin for their age). Nationally,only 2 percent of children are overweight fortheir age. Malnutrition rates are generally highestduring the period when children are being weaned.Nearly half of children age 18-23 months are stunted,and 19 percent are severely stunted.Overall, 46 percent of women and 72 percent ofmen have a body mass index (BMI) in the normalrange. Comparatively few women are malnourished;only 3 percent of women are thin, and 1 percent areseverely thin. Malnutrition is higher among men,with 10 percent of men assessed as too thin, and 3percent considered moderately or severely thin. Atthe other end of the BMI range, 14 percent of menare assessed as overweight (BMI 25-29.9) and 4 percentare obese (BMI >30).. Among women, 28 percentare classified as overweight, and 23 percent areconsidered obese.MALARIAIn interpreting the malaria programme indicatorsin Swaziland, it is important to recognise that the diseaseaffects an estimated 30 percent of the populationwhere malaria is most prevalent (the Lubombo Plateau,the lowveld, and parts of the middleveld). Ma-Summary of Findings | xxv