THE DEVASTATIONS OF CIVIL WAR : MATERNAL CHARACTERISTICS AND CHILD NUTRITIONAL STATUS IN LIBERIA

Many Liberian children suffer the burden of malnutrition. Studies have revealed its consequences on children may be severe and irreversible with long lasting implications on those who suffer malnutrition in early childhood. Mothers are known to be the main providers of primary care to children, thus understanding the contribution of maternal characteristics on child nutrition is key towards addressing the problem. This paper examines the role of maternal socio-demographic characteristics on nutritional status of children measured by stunting, wasting and underweight. Analysis of DHS (2007) data indicated almost a third of children were chronically undernourished, a fifth underweight whilst six percent was acutely undernourished. This is significantly high by Sub Saharan Africa standards. Significant determinants of nutritional status were region of residence, age and sex of child, wealth and migration status during the war. Efforts should address enhancing women’s status in meeting the Millennium Development Goals. Introduction Over the past years, the proportion of the world’s people who are hungry has declined from one-fifth to one-sixth, and the absolute number of hungry people has fallen slightly. Over 852 million people are still chronically or acutely malnourished. Though most of them are in Asia, particularly India (221 million) and China (142 million), these regions have contributed to the decline but sadly, Sub-Saharan Africa has 204 million hungry children and is the only region of the world where the prevalence of both general undernourishment and children’s underweight status are increasing. If current trends continue, this region will not only fail to achieve the Hunger Goal, but it is likely to suffer from increasing numbers of hungry people (Sanchez et al, 2005). Malnutrition amongst children is most widespread among disadvantaged populations living in developing countries. The consequences of malnutrition are severe and long-lasting. Children who are malnourished have longer and more severe illnesses (Black et al, 1984; Sepulveda et al, 1988) and have a higher risk of dying (Pelletier, 1994; Schroeder and Brown, 1994), compared to better-nourished children. Malnourished children also have delayed motor development (Pollitt et al, 1994) and lower cognitive function and school performance (Pollitt, 1990). In adulthood, individuals who were malnourished as children have impaired work capacity (Haas et al, 1995) and worse reproductive performance (Martorell et al, 1996). Finally, malnutrition can have negative effects, not only on those afflicted, but on their offsprings as well (Ramakrishnan et al, 1999). The causes of malnutrition are numerous. These causes are intertwined with each other and are hierarchically related. The most immediate (or proximate) determinants of malnutrition are poor diet and illness (UNICEF, 1998). Poor diet and illness are themselves caused by a set of underlying factors that include family access to food and maternal care-giving practices. Finally, these underlying factors are influenced by the basic socioeconomic and political conditions within which poor families are attempting to raise well-nourished children. Grey areas exist for many country specific studies on this very topic, more especially in war torn countries in Africa such as Liberia. Even though the crisis of war has ended and the first steps towards reconstruction have been made, the challenges are enormous. Indicators of