[Malnutrition and health status of children under five years old in the suburban zone of Niamey, Niger]

Abstract

In June 1992 prior to a community-based screening campaign for malnourished children, a cross-sectional survey was conducted in a semi-urban area located ten kilometers from Niamey, the capital city of Niger. Nutritional data gathered from a representative sample of children under the age of 5 years were compared to corresponding data from the National Center for Health Statistics. Acute malnutrition among children under six months was 8%. In the sample as a whole, the rates acute and chronic malnutrition were 17.7% (13.4-22.0) and 28.7% (23.4-33.9) respectively with 4% accuracy. These rates were similar to those of a previous regional study made in 1990. Nutritional status was related to the identity of the caretaker. Mothers had a mean of 4.07 living children and 0.99 dead children. The study indicated a child mortality rate of 181 (136-225) per thousand. The primary anamnestic causes of death were diarrhea and measles. Malnutrition was the fifth cause of death. Twenty-two percent of children screened had been sick in the month preceding the study. Low cure rates of the malnourished at the nutritional center of Niamey (7.42%) and high level of chronic malnutrition underline the need for solutions better suited to semi-urban areas.