Combating Malnutrition in Ethiopia :An Evidence-Based Approach for Sustained Results

Rajkumar, Andrew Sunil ; Gaukler, Christopher ; Tilahun, Jessica

World Bank

关键词: Malnutrition;   

DOI  :  10.1596/978-0-8213-8765-8
RP-ID  :  66048

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

Malnutrition can be transient like anacute disease. More often, it is chronic, a lifelong,intergenerational condition beginning early in life andcontinuing into old age. Most under-nutrition starts duringpregnancy and the first two years of life. After a childreaches 24 months of age, damage from early malnutrition isirreversible. Various indicators are commonly used tomeasure and monitor malnutrition, including rates ofstunting, wasting, and underweight among children under fiveyears of age (see the glossary for definitions andexplanations). Stunting is a measure of long-term, chronicmalnutrition. Wasting is a measure of more transient, acute,but reversible malnutrition. These two measures are oftennot highly correlated. Underweight is a composite index ofstunting and wasting; an underweight child can be stunted,wasted, or both. The government of Ethiopia formulated andapproved the first National Nutrition Strategy in February2008 to concentrate efforts on reducing malnutrition. TheNational Nutrition Program was approved in December 2008 toimplement the strategy following a programmatic approach.The Ministry of Health is the lead agency overseeing theprogram and implementing its key aspects; other ministriesand sectors are also involved in the multisectoral effort toreduce malnutrition.