Abstract:Promoting child development and welfare delivers human rights and builds sustainable economies through investment in ‘cognitive capital’. This analysis looks at conditions that support optimal brain development in childhood and highlights how social protection promotes these conditions and strengthens the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Asia and the Pacific. Embracing child-sensitive social protection offers multiple benefits. The region has been a leader in global poverty reduction … Show more
“…Anaemia is also a significant public health and development challenge, with approximately 28% of Indonesian under‐fives being anaemic (National Institute of Research and Development, Ministry of Health, ). The persistent high prevalence of stunting and anaemia constrains progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals and poses a significant threat to the formation of Indonesia's cognitive capital, economic growth, and development (Strass & Thomas Strauss & Thomas, ; Samson, Fajth, & François, ).…”
Section: Introductionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Development Goals and poses a significant threat to the formation of Indonesia's cognitive capital, economic growth, and development (Strass & Thomas Strauss & Thomas, 1998;Samson, Fajth, & François, 2016).…”
Growing evidence suggests that household sanitation is associated with child nutritional status in low‐ and middle‐income countries. This paper examined whether household access to improved sanitation facilities and sources of drinking water was associated with stunting and anaemia amongst children aged 6–35 months of age in Indonesia. The sample for the analysis comprised 1,450 children aged 6–35 months who participated in the end‐line survey of the maternal and young child nutrition security project in Asia, conducted in three selected districts in Indonesia. Logistic regression models were used to determine the association between household sanitation and water source, and stunting and anaemia. Approximately 26% and 56% of children 6–35 months of age were stunted and anaemic, respectively. Children living in a household with improved sanitation facilities had 29% reduced odds of being stunted compared with those in a household with unimproved sanitation facilities, after adjusting for potential confounders including child's age and gender, maternal education, and iron–folic acid supplementation, as well as household wealth status and source of drinking water (
OR
= 0.68, 95% CI:0.48–0.96). No association between household sanitation and childhood anaemia was observed. Source of drinking water was not associated with stunting or anaemia amongst children. There were no synergistic effects of household sanitation and water supply on stunting and anaemia. This suggests that efforts to improve household sanitation condition may need to be considered an essential, integral part of the programmatic responses by governments and development partners for the prevention of childhood nutritional status. Further randomised research is necessary to determine the causal link.
“…Anaemia is also a significant public health and development challenge, with approximately 28% of Indonesian under‐fives being anaemic (National Institute of Research and Development, Ministry of Health, ). The persistent high prevalence of stunting and anaemia constrains progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals and poses a significant threat to the formation of Indonesia's cognitive capital, economic growth, and development (Strass & Thomas Strauss & Thomas, ; Samson, Fajth, & François, ).…”
Section: Introductionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Development Goals and poses a significant threat to the formation of Indonesia's cognitive capital, economic growth, and development (Strass & Thomas Strauss & Thomas, 1998;Samson, Fajth, & François, 2016).…”
Growing evidence suggests that household sanitation is associated with child nutritional status in low‐ and middle‐income countries. This paper examined whether household access to improved sanitation facilities and sources of drinking water was associated with stunting and anaemia amongst children aged 6–35 months of age in Indonesia. The sample for the analysis comprised 1,450 children aged 6–35 months who participated in the end‐line survey of the maternal and young child nutrition security project in Asia, conducted in three selected districts in Indonesia. Logistic regression models were used to determine the association between household sanitation and water source, and stunting and anaemia. Approximately 26% and 56% of children 6–35 months of age were stunted and anaemic, respectively. Children living in a household with improved sanitation facilities had 29% reduced odds of being stunted compared with those in a household with unimproved sanitation facilities, after adjusting for potential confounders including child's age and gender, maternal education, and iron–folic acid supplementation, as well as household wealth status and source of drinking water (
OR
= 0.68, 95% CI:0.48–0.96). No association between household sanitation and childhood anaemia was observed. Source of drinking water was not associated with stunting or anaemia amongst children. There were no synergistic effects of household sanitation and water supply on stunting and anaemia. This suggests that efforts to improve household sanitation condition may need to be considered an essential, integral part of the programmatic responses by governments and development partners for the prevention of childhood nutritional status. Further randomised research is necessary to determine the causal link.
“…There is increasing recognition that the current nutrition-focused approach will not be sufficient to achieve global targets for improvements in maternal and child nutrition (International Food Policy Research Institute, 2016). Multisectoral engagement around common goals of improved child survival, growth, and development through integrated and complementary approaches is widely considered to yield greater efficiency of investment (Irwin, Siddiqi, & Hertzman, 2007;Samson, Fajth, & Francois, 2016).…”
Undernutrition is a major contributor to child morbidity and mortality and poses a large burden to the economy, in Cambodia. This study explored factors contributing to child stunting and wasting and their regional inequalities among 1,938 Cambodian children aged 6–23.9 months. Data were drawn from a longitudinal study (year 2017) conducted in six districts of two north‐eastern provinces and the capital and used as cross‐sectional. Socio‐demographic and household characteristics, children's feeding practices during the previous 24 hr, and children's length and weight measurements were collected. Gradient boosting models were used to calculate the contribution of determinants to child undernutrition whereas concentration index was used to assess the impact of those determinants on stunting and wasting inequalities among socioeconomic groups. It was found that low‐household wealth could predict 21% to 45% of child stunting and 23% to 36% of wasting across regions. After wealth, source and treatment of drinking water were found the second major predictor for stunting (15%) and wasting (21%). Combining child nutrition and household water, sanitation and hygiene indicators predicted around 30% of child undernutrition, either in the form of stunting or wasting. Mothers' education predicted >30% of stunting in the north‐eastern region. Results highlight that a complex interplay of factors contributes to child stunting and wasting. An integrated, intersectoral, equity‐focused approach that addresses children's dietary quality, household's water, sanitation and hygiene conditions, mother's education, and poverty is likely to yield the highest impact in achieving further gains in nutritional status among Cambodian children.
“…Cognitive capital has also been described as representing:[T]he complete set of intellectual skills, primarily nurtured prenatally and in early childhood, that determines human capabilities … [it] drives the most rapidly growing sectors of the modern economy … [and] develops optimally in boys and girls who benefit from good nutrition, stimulation and a supportive and secure family and social environment. (Samson, Fajth, & François, , p. i20)…”
Cognitive capital is an emerging paradigm that captures the criticality of investing in children whilst neural proliferation and development of brain architecture are at their peak. Distinct from financial capital, cognitive capital represents investment in future human potential from interventions in nutrition, health, education, child protection, and social welfare systems that optimize brain development. The return on investment is significant given the plasticity of the developing brain in response to positive stimuli. Investment in brain development results in improved health and well-being, educational outcomes, skills, employment, and quality of life. The inverse is also true. Negative stimuli lead to depreciating cognitive capital, poorer mental and physical health and educational outcomes, and decreased life chances. Cognitive capital could be an organizing framework for China's next phase of development to ensure the building of a prosperous society. Through significant commitment from the government, China has seen remarkable improvements in under-five mortality, literacy rates, access to basic education, life expectancy, and gross domestic product in the past few decades as the result of an expansion of publicly funded social services. Yet, inequities remain within and across communities and regions. In 2015, China had a country ranking of 97 for gross national income per capita, highlighting remaining challenges across the whole population. Cognitive capital relies on a package of forward-looking policies that lead to equitable, efficient, and effective use of existing and future resources. This is consistent with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Investments in interventions that maximize optimal brain development in children, realize children's rights, and contribute to future economic growth, defined as "cognitive capital," represent a significant opportunity for improving children's lives, nation-building, and future economic growth in China.
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