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Abstract
Malnutrition affects a large proportion of children in Nepal. Humla belongs to the most remote and less developed districts of Nepal, with annual food deficits and limited access to health facilities. Adequate nutrition is necessary for normal development and an active life. Malnutrition interacts with childhood development and contributes to more than one third of all deaths in children under the age of 5. During a 3-week child health camp, 296 children and adolescents were examined and nutritional status was assessed by measuring mid–upper arm circumference in 165 children between 6 and 60 months of age. One in 5 children was found to be malnourished, and more girls than boys were affected (24% versus 14%), but the difference was not statistically significant (P = .16, Fisher’s exact test). Awareness raising and screening infants and young children for malnutrition by measuring mid–upper arm circumference is feasible even under difficult circumstances and would be a first step to prevent progression into severe acute or chronic malnutrition.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors thank Nepal Trust Austria, in particular Eduard Frosch (Director) and Alfred Bichler (Medical Director), for inviting us to organize and perform the child health camp. We thank Tspal Dorje Lama, head of the Nepal Austria Partnership Organisation, for his support in preparing and conducting the health camp and the health workers of Humla District Hospital for their eager assistance and cooperation.