Smart Management of Malnutrition Using Local Foods: A Sustainable Initiative for Developing Countries

Abstract

Malnutrition is one of the major challenges the developing world is currently facing, whether it is caused by climate change, terrorism and conflict, or demographic shifts. Poverty is the main cause of malnutrition in this part of the world, and no progress is possible without the alleviation of poverty to reduce malnutrition. Reducing household vulnerability and increasing household resilience is the pathway to sustainable malnutrition management. Malnutrition has been a major threat to the health and development of children in developing countries, presenting as high levels of micronutrient deficiencies, stunting, and global acute malnutrition. The rates of malnutrition of all forms are above the thresholds accepted by the WHO in some regions. To this end, the resilience program on achieving nutrition in a developing country through at-home learning activities for nutritional rehabilitation and dietary promotion (known as FARN) reported, in this case, successful results from both statements from beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries on the reduction and management of malnutrition in their health centers. FARN activity encourages the consumption of locally available foods not only to eradicate malnutrition but also to protect the ecosystem and sustainable nutrition security. This is much like the saying, “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime” to the vulnerable people; parents' knowledge of their child's nutritional status and the use of local-based foods diets showed improvement, which is proof of the impact of the resilience program. It can be concluded that the resilience program through its activities at the level of the selected community significantly affected the factors and degree of persistence of malnutrition and the level of resilience of the populations. Thus, the FARN program showed resounding success in its ability to promote sustainable malnutrition management.

Nutritional rehabilitation of special cases of malnourished children aged 0 to 6 months at the Maradi Regional Hospital, Niger

“…Characterization of the parents of malnourished children helps to locate responsibility for the situation of management of malnutrition [6]. Thus, in this case, 87% of the mothers of malnourished children are <35 years old and 13% are over their thirties (Fig.…”

“…The current government is very keen to investigate this issue to find a solution, and health professionals are particularly interested [5]. To deal with malnutrition, the government is fully committed through its Ministry of Health and its technical and financial partners working in the field of nutrition in developing countries, to find ways and means to curb this very dangerous disease [6]. Knowingly, diverse factors are influencing malnutrition directly or indirectly in developing countries as described as insufficient resources and their control, low literacy of parents, inadequate health care for mother and child, unsanitary environment, community dependence on assistance, irregular meals for the child, and imbalance in eating habits [6,7].…”

Utilization of local therapeutic food in preventing and treating nutrition problems in the dry land area of the islands of east nusa tenggara province

“…Handling the problem of malnutrition in children under five can be done through diversified efforts to develop additional food formulas by taking into account nutritional aspects, acceptability, durability, and the advantages of local food resources. [ 1 ] East Nusa Tenggara Province has many types of local foods that are rich in nutritional content including corn, moringa leaves, and anchovies. The Corn (Zea mays L) are processed more traditionally and used as staple food with nutritional content.…”

Breastfeeding performance index and associated factors among children aged 0–6 months in Ethiopia: Analysis of the 2019 Ethiopia Mini Demographic and Health Survey

“…Many developing countries are affected by malnutrition, which has serious ramifications for individual health and national development in terms of lost human capital and economic output ( 1 – 4 ). Infants under the age of 6 months are commonly affected by malnutrition globally ( 4 ).…”