Prevalence, Types and Risk Factors for Malnutrition in Displaced Sudanese Children

Abstract

The nutritional status of 327 under-five children living in Mayoo displacement camp, Khartoum, Sudan, was assessed during May-August 2004. Risk factors for protein-energy malnutrition (PEM) were also studied. According to WHO criteria, a total of 186 (56.1%) children had malnutrition, of these 101(30.1%), 43 (13.1%) and 42 (12.8%) were mildly, moderately and severely malnourished respectively. According to Welcome classification, the commonest type of malnutrition was found to be underweight (38.2%), marasmus, kwashiorkor were detected in (6.4%) and (0.9%) respectively, there was no case of marasmic kwashiorkor in the studied population. Prevalence of vitamin "A" was 9.2% of which 0.9% had night blindness. Age, sex, lack of immunization, lack of breast-feeding, history of fever and history of diarrhoea were tested and were not found be risk factors for malnutrition in this group of children.