The global problems of child malnutrition and mortality in different world regions
El-Ghannam, A.Ragab.
Journal of Health and Social Policy 16(4): 1-26
2003
ISSN/ISBN: 0897-7186 PMID: 12943330 DOI: 10.1300/j045v16n04_01Document Number: 258284
The study of child mortality occupies a special place in the field of demographic research, since it represents the negative component of population growth. Also, the world food problem has become a familiar topic since the end of the World War II. The idea that population growth will sometime in the future outrun food supplies and universal starvation occurs. This study deals with what happened in global and regional variations regarding child malnutrition and mortality rates. The main objective of the study was to explain and to explore the effect of the social, demographic, economic and health factors on child malnutrition and mortality rates among different regions in the globe. This study included ten regions of the world compared to other studies that covered only one or two regions. Data were collected from various sources. The sample involved 191 countries. These countries were divided by regions of the world as: East Africa, Southern Africa, West Africa, East Asia and Pacific, South Asia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Europe, Middle East, North Africa, North America, and South America. The highest mean rate of child malnutrition was found in South Asia (57 per 100 children), while the smallest mean rate was found in Europe (just one per 100 children). In West Africa, the average child mortality rate was 172 per 1000 children, and was the highest among all regions in the world. In Europe, the rate was 14 children per 1000. Correlation coefficient analysis revealed that there were positive associations between illiteracy rate, unemployment, poverty, fertility rate, family size, food consumption, maternal mortality rate, population per physician, and child malnutrition and mortality in the whole world regions. Some regions showed strong significant associations, such as Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and America, while the others showed non-significant association, such as Europe, Middle East, and North Africa. The results suggest that there are negative associations between GNP, household income, protein consumption, and child malnutrition and mortality in all world regions except in Europe and Central Asia.