Addressing childhood undernutrition in Tanzania: Challenges and opportunities

Abstract

Childhood undernutrition is highly prevalent in low and middle-income countries resulting in a substantial increase in overall disease burden and mortality. The problem is markedly severe in low-income countries particularly in Africa, and Tanzania is not exceptional. Childhood undernutrition is associated with decreased productivity resulting in a vicious cycle of poverty in affected families, communities and nations. Children who survive after two years of life may develop poor health outcomes including faltering growth and irreversible damage to their cognitive, physical and psychosocial development. In a long term, childhood undernutrition can lead to poor socio-economic development of individuals, families and affected communities. Childhood undernutrition in African countries significantly contributes to poor development and the burden of disease as it complicates the existing problem of infectious diseases. Current strategies addressing this problem largely utilise a medical care model which aims to reduce mortality and may have limited selected preventative aspects confined broadly to vaccinations, food fortifications, and micronutrient supplementations. It is apparent that environmental, cultural and social factors are receiving limited attention. This complex and dire situation demands systematic, effective comprehensive multi-level and multi-sectoral policy drivers that provide effective socioeconomic, environmental, health policies and legislations in the pursuit of effective, equitable and just delivery of social and health services for all groups of its citizens regardless of their socio-economic status. Tanzania as a nation alongside other developing countries need to recognise the magnitude of this scourge and develop comprehensive approaches that will enable development of legislations, policies and long term solution to childhood undernutrition. This paper reviews strategies outside of the health sector with high potential for preventing childhood undernutrition in Tanzania and that can be translated in many developing countries. Comprehensive range of legislations and policies are recommended for implementation of interventions to reduce their occurrence or ameliorate childhood undernutrition consequences.

Concurrent wasting and stunting among under‐five children in the context of Ethiopia: A generalised mixed‐effects modelling

“…Childhood undernutrition is a global public health problem particularly prevalent in low‐and middle‐income countries (Bundara et al, 2013; Li et al, 2020), including Ethiopia. The most common forms of undernutrition are wasting and stunting, which are closely related and often occur concurrently in the same children (Khara et al, 2018).…”

Addressing child undernutrition in Tanzania with the ASTUTE program

“…Many communication campaigns utilize techniques from SCT by modeling desired behaviors on television using actors that are culturally or ethnically similar to the audience [ 11 ]. When done correctly, behavior change strategies can help increase the self-efficacy of the audience, and can address inappropriate cultural or social practices that adversely affect childhood nutrition status [ 11 , 12 ]. The use of SCT allows for a more thorough understanding of nutrition-related behaviors [ 16 , 17 ].…”

“…While integrated communication and capacity building programs are a strategy often utilized to disseminate information, shape norms, and influence a mother's nutrition and feeding practices [ 11 ], media-based efforts are often used to create awareness of local issues and generate attention from the community [ 11 ]. Literature indicates that programs which incorporate various communication strategies play a central role in addressing the nutrition of young children in Tanzania [ 12 ]. While not in Tanzania, one study analyzed the combined impact of integrated programs using capacity building, mass media interventions, community mobilization, and interpersonal communication (IPC) on breastfeeding and complementary feeding (CF) practices [ 7 ].…”

“…Specifically relating to Tanzania, studies have confirmed the association between dietary diversity and reduction of undernutrition among children and others have suggested that behavioral change communication strategies may help reduce rates of undernutrition. However, studies using large-scale data from Tanzania to examine the direct association between mass media and IYCFP have not been identified in literature [ 12 , 13 ].…”

Consumption Uncertainty Reduction Among Sweet Potato Smallholder Farmers in Tanzania

“…Food insecurity and decreasing income levels are leading factors for undernutrition among children (Moshy, Masenge, & Bryceson, 2013). There is a high prevalence of childhood undernutrition, which requires integrated interventions to reduce poverty and improve the quality of life of unprivileged people (Mwanri, Bundara, & Masika, 2018). Urban migration significantly worsens rural migrant households due to loss of agricultural labor input (Duda, Fasse, & Grote, 2018).…”