Sterilization has also been used in both villages. In some Moslem households birth control is not used because the family believe it is against their religion. The average number of children per family is slightly higher in the Muslim families than in the Buddhist families. Most children do not have enough clothes to wear, and they play barefooted on the ground. They wear clothing, their school uniform, only when they go to school.
Toddlers wander around the house and the village without supervision much of the time.
They may pick up things from the ground and put them in their mouths, and thus, with poor sanitation throughout the villages, they are likely to swallow worm eggs or larvae. Helminthiases create various health problems, including anaemia, malnutrition, and liver diseases, which can impede the children's normal growth and development. The lack of facilities for the safe disposal of human wastes, along with the lack of fresh water, seems well correlated with diarrhoea, which is commonly reported in both villages. Poor sanitary conditions may cause epidemic diseases, especially those of the gastro-intestinal system, which can have dangerous consequences. References Department of Commercial Relations.