Malnutrition in Yemen: an invisible crisis

Eshaq, Abdulaziz M; Fothan, Ahmed M; Jensen, Elyse C; Khan, Tehreem A.; AlAmodi, Abdulhadi A.

doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(16)32592-2

Cited by 17 publications

(11 citation statements)

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“…Yemen has experienced multiple conflicts that intensified around 2010 [ 4 ], with large protests taking place in 2011, internal fighting in 2012–2014, and a war and siege that started in 2015 and continue to date [ 5 ]. The war and siege have had a devastating impact on every vital sector in Yemen including agriculture, service, and industry, which faced large-scale destruction and significant cost increases [ 6 , 7 ]. Social service delivery and the already-weak health system have been deeply disrupted.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Health in Yemen: losing ground in war time

et al. 2018

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BackgroundThe effect of the ongoing war in Yemen on maternal and child health (MCH) has not been comprehensively assessed. Providing a situational analysis at the governorate level is critical to assist in planning a response and allocating resources.MethodsWe used multiple national- and governorate-level data sources to provide estimates of 12 relevant MCH indicators in 2016 around child vaccination, and child and maternal nutritional status, and the change in these estimates for the period 2013–2016 based on shock variables including change in gross domestic product, burden of airstrikes per 1000 population, change in access to untreated water sources and unimproved toilets, and change in wheat flour prices. We also used findings from the Global Burden of Disease 2016 study.ResultsVaccine coverage decreased for all antigens between 2013 and 2016 among children 12–23 months. The largest decrease, 36·4% for first-dose measles vaccine, was in Aden. Among children under the age of five, incidence of diarrhea was at 7·0 (5·5–8·9) episodes per person-year. The prevalence of moderate and severe child anemia ranged from 50·9% (24·9–73·1) in Sana’a City to 97·8% (94·1–99·2) in Shabwah in 2016. Prevalence of underweight among women of reproductive age ranged from 15·3% (8·1–24·6) in Sana’a city to 32·1% (24·1–39·7) in Hajjah, with a national average of 24·6% (18·7–31·5).ConclusionsThe war and siege on Yemen has had a devastating impact on the health of women and children. Urgent efforts to secure food, essential medicines, antibiotics, deworming medicine, and hygiene kits, and cold chains for immunization are needed. Yemen is in dire need of clean water and proper sanitation to reduce the spread of disease, especially diarrhea.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12992-018-0354-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Health in Yemen: losing ground in war time

et al. 2018

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“…Another limitation of this analysis is the variability in the waves of MICS and DHS surveys included. Although we captured the most recent available surveys for both regions, for countries such as Syria and Yemen, these data predate ongoing conflicts and are unlikely to represent the current nutritional situation of children, which has been catastrophically affected(El Bcheraoui, Jumaan, Collison, Daoud, & Mokdad, 2018;Eshaq, Fothan, Jensen, Khan, & AlAmodi, 2017;Meiqari, Hoetjes, Baxter, & Lenglet, 2018).…”

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confidence: 99%

Child‐level double burden of malnutrition in the MENA and LAC regions: Prevalence and social determinants

Ghattas

Acharya

Jamaluddine

et al. 2019

Maternal & Child Nutrition

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Although the prevalence of obesity has rapidly increased in the low‐ and middle‐income countries of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) regions, child undernutrition remains a public‐health challenge. We examined region‐specific sociodemographic determinants of this double burden of malnutrition, specifically, the co‐occurrence of child stunting and overweight, using Demographic and Health Survey and Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey data (2003–2016) from 11 countries in the MENA (n = 118,585) and 13 countries in the LAC (n = 77,824) regions. We used multiple logistic regressions to model region‐specific associations of maternal education and household wealth with child nutritional outcomes (6–59 months). The prevalence of stunting, overweight, and their co‐occurrence was 24%, 10%, and 4.3% in children in the MENA region, respectively, and 19%, 5%, and 0.5% in children in the LAC region, respectively. In both regions, higher maternal education and household wealth were significantly associated with lower odds of stunting and higher odds of overweight. As compared with the poorest wealth quintiles, decreased odds of co‐occurring stunting and overweight were observed among children from the second, third, and fourth wealth quintiles in the LAC region. In the MENA region, this association was only statistically significant for the second wealth quintile. In both regions, double burden was not statistically significantly associated with maternal education. The social patterning of co‐occurring stunting and overweight in children varied across the two regions, indicating potential differences in the underlying aetiology of the double burden across regions and stages of the nutrition transition.

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“…With so many steps to be taken to prevent child malnutrition, it cannot remain an invisible problem (Eshaq et al 2017). …”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Correlates of child undernutrition in Yemen

Souza

2017

Bandung: Journal of the Global South

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Malnutrition is part of a vicious cycle involving biological and social aspects. Some factors are directly associated with malnutrition, such as inadequate dietary intake and incidence of disease, while others (socio-economic in nature) are more distant but no less important. This paper aims at identifying the main correlates of stunting among Yemeni children through a logistic regression model. The results are based on the fourth round of the National Social Protection Monitoring Survey conducted in 2013; which makes this study a baseline assessment of Yemeni child undernutrition before the ongoing civil war. Primarily addressing the most significant factors associated with stunting in Yemen is urgent especially if one considers the country’s constant public budget shortages. There are significant differences—in prevalence of child stunting— between regions of residence that could be reduced by putting in place local policies aimed at increasing population access to adequate water and good hygiene practices. The Social Welfare Fund (SWF) programme is also important since this benefit is the only source of income for some families. However, if corruption, regional and civil conflict continues, improvements in the SWF will probably not matter. Such interventions, together with policies for changing attitudes towards women’s education, would also help to promote proper child feeding practices. Likewise, cultural aspects can explain the aetiology of children’s poor growth. Examples include feeding taboos that influence early initiation and duration of breastfeeding. With so many steps to be taken to prevent child malnutrition, it cannot remain an invisible problem.

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Malnutrition in Yemen: an invisible crisis

Cited by 17 publications

References 1 publication

Health in Yemen: losing ground in war time

Health in Yemen: losing ground in war time

Child‐level double burden of malnutrition in the MENA and LAC regions: Prevalence and social determinants

Correlates of child undernutrition in Yemen

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