Baseline data from the Nyando Integrated Child Health and Education Project--Kenya, 2007
Insights
Child survival programs in Kenya face significant challenges. A baseline survey in western Kenya revealed high rates of poverty, acute respiratory infections, diarrhea, malnutrition, anemia, and malaria among young children.
Area of Science:
- Global Health
- Pediatric Infectious Diseases
- Public Health Interventions
Background:
- Millions of children under five die annually in developing nations, primarily from infectious diseases like pneumonia, diarrhea, measles, and malaria.
- Malnutrition significantly exacerbates mortality, contributing to roughly 50% of these deaths.
- Effective child survival programs necessitate robust interventions and strategic implementation to address multiple health determinants.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the effectiveness of integrated interventions for child survival.
- To establish baseline health and socioeconomic indicators for the Nyando Integrated Child Health and Education (NICHE) project in western Kenya.
Main Methods:
- Conducted a baseline survey in March-April 2007 in a rural district of western Kenya.
- Collected data on household socioeconomic status and child health indicators, including acute respiratory infections, diarrhea, malnutrition, anemia, and malaria.
Main Results:
- 86.1% of surveyed households belonged to the poorest socioeconomic quintile in Kenya.
- Among children aged 6-35 months: 21.5% experienced acute respiratory infection, 9.1% experienced diarrhea, 28.0% had chronic malnutrition, 66.2% had anemia, and 19.8% had a positive malaria smear.
Conclusions:
- The study highlights extreme poverty and a high burden of infectious diseases and malnutrition among young children in the target region.
- Comprehensive interventions are crucial to improve living conditions and reduce under-five mortality.
- Findings underscore the need for integrated approaches like the NICHE project to address multifaceted child health challenges.
Abstract:
Approximately 10 million children aged <5 years die each year in developing countries. The leading infectious causes of these deaths include acute respiratory infections, diarrhea, measles, and malaria; malnutrition contributes to approximately 50% of these deaths. To address multiple conditions that contribute to mortality, child-survival programs require effective interventions and implementation strategies. To assess the effectiveness of multiple interventions, CDC has joined with partners to create the Nyando Integrated Child Health and Education (NICHE) project to combine several proven approaches to child survival in an impoverished rural district of western Kenya. During March-April 2007, CDC began the NICHE project with a baseline survey. This report summarizes preliminary data from that survey, which determined that 1) 86.1% of surveyed households were in the poorest Kenya socioeconomic quintile and 2) among children aged 6-35 months, 21.5% had experienced an acute respiratory infection and 9.1% had experienced diarrhea in the preceding 24 hours, 28.0% had chronic malnutrition, 66.2% had anemia, and 19.8% had a positive malaria smear. Comprehensive interventions will be needed to improve living conditions and reduce the risk for death before age 5 years among children in this population.
