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Armenia's Child Nutrition Challenge

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  • Armenia's Child Nutrition Challenge

    Institute for War and Peace Reporting, UK
    IWPR Caucasus Reporting #746
    July 30 2014


    Armenia's Child Nutrition Challenge

    Health ministry plans new strategy to tackle high rates of
    malnourishment among under-fives.
    By Lilit Arakelyan - Caucasus

    Almost a fifth of children under the age of five in Armenia suffer
    from restricted growth because of malnutrition, and public health
    experts say things are getting worse rather than better.

    The last comprehensive national survey was conducted in 2010 and
    showed that 19 per cent of under-fives had signs of restricted growth.
    The figure was worse for rural parts of Armenia, at 22 per cent
    compared with 17 per cent in urban centres.

    Health experts blame widespread poverty in Armenia, but also argue
    that parents are not always aware of proper nutrition.

    The national statistics agency says that about a million people -
    nearly a third of the population - were living below the poverty line
    in 2012.

    A study by the Fund for Armenian Relief conducted in 2013 showed that
    16 per cent of children aged under six in the northeastern Tavush
    region had restricted growth, and 19 per cent had anaemia.

    Dr Asya Mardanyan, who heads a family medicine centre and looks after
    three villages in Tavush region, told IWPR that the children she saw
    were generally undernourished, with anaemia in one out of every five
    cases.

    "The rate of anaemia among children is huge.... haemoglobin levels
    remain low for up to two or three years," she said. "It's entirely a
    result of people being badly-off. They don't have the money to buy
    meat and dairy products. That's why children are so poorly nourished."

    Hambardzum Simonyan is coordinating a nutrition programme for 250
    families in Tavush for the Fund for Armenian Relief, said this region
    presented particular problems since it had higher-than-average levels
    of emigration and was blocked on one side by the border with
    Azerbaijan.

    "It's very important to prevent malnutrition during the first 1,000
    days of a child's life - i.e. the nine months of pregnancy plus the
    first two years," Simonyan said. "It's essential to provide the child
    with nutrition, otherwise irreparable damage will occur."

    Svetlana Smbatyan, from the village of Tavush, found out that her
    six-year-old daughter was anaemic after taking her to a doctor.

    "She felt weak all the time. She was falling asleep and she was always
    tired. The doctor said low levels of haemoglobin were to blame, and
    prescribed polyvitamins. I've been trying to raise my daughter's
    haemoglobin levels through a good diet," Smbatyan said.

    She said her husband's army pay of 365 US dollars a month was barely
    enough to feed her and their three children.

    "I can only afford meat once a month, to feed children who need food
    that's rich in iron. And I need to economise on dairy products too, so
    we buy them just twice a month," she said.

    Liana Hovakimyan, who heads a healthcare and nutrition programme for
    the United Nations children's agency UNICEF, said malnutrition was a
    complex problem that required a range of responses.

    "The problem of chronic childhood malnutrition in Armenia is gradually
    getting worse, so our integrated programme is mainly aimed at
    promoting breastfeeding, ensuring the correct and timely use of
    dietary supplements for children, improving the knowledge and
    counselling skills of health workers, and raising awareness among
    parents with regards to baby food," she told IWPR.

    Armenia's health ministry recognises the gravity of the problem and
    has drawn up a programme designed to improve childhood nutrition.

    "There's a lot left to do. We need to invest money effectively and
    coordinate our efforts," Karine Saribekyan, head of the health
    ministry's mother and child department, told IWPR. "The new government
    programme acknowledges that the mother-and-child health is a major
    problem, and one aspect of the programme focuses on child nutrition."

    Saribekyan said the ministry planned to seek government approval for a
    "strategic plan for improving children's nourishment".

    Lilit Arakelyan is a reporter for the Araratnews.am website in Armenia.

    http://iwpr.net/report-news/armenias-child-nutrition-challenge




    From: A. Papazian
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