Next Big Future is a great blog about techonoogy that ends up dealing with issues of health through their focus on, “Life Extension” and “Nanotechnology.” However, what I found interesting about this post was that one of the key solutions for preventing underweight children has been with us from the beginning: breastfeeding of course. The Big Future for maternal and child health must include new technologies and treatments, but often the simplest solutions are the most effective.
The most cost effective strategy to reduce under-nutrition and its consequences combines a mix of preventive and curative interventions. Micronutrient supplementation and fortification - Vitamin A, zinc and iron – is very cost-effective. It should be combined with maternal counselling to continue breast feeding, and targeted provision of complimentary food as necessary. In addition, routine treatment of diarrhoea and pneumonia, major consequences of under-nutrition, should be part of any health improvement strategy for children. Childhood and maternal underweight was estimated to cause 3.4 million deaths in 2000, about 1.8 million in Africa. This accounted for about one in 14 deaths globally.
(via Next Big Future via WHO)
