Nutrition and immunization survey of Bosnian women and children during 1993

As a result of the war in Bosnia, millions of displaced people and refugees have come to depend upon international donations of food aid.

We conducted a survey of 120 randomly selected 'clusters' of households in the Bosnian regions of Sarajevo, Tuzla, Zenica and Bihac (30 'clusters' in each region). Children from 6 to 59 months and their mothers were selected and their nutritional status was examined. Children aged 13-25 months and infants under 16 weeks were also assessed for their immunization status and infant feeding practices respectively.

There were no clinical signs of protein-energy undernutrition or micronutrient deficiency in children. Similarly, there were no clinical signs of undernutrition in adults, although 10.8% of the resident women in Sarajevo and 11.9% in Zenica had a Body Mass Index (BMI) below 18.5. Total BCG coverage was 94% while the coverage for DPT/polio was only 55% in Sarajevo and 49% in Zenica. Only 5% of mothers were exclusively breastfeeding babies under 16 weeks.

While the coverage of the survey was not nationwide and was limited to the first year of the war, the results indicate that in this period serious hunger and undernutrition were prevented in Bosnia, though they suggest that appreciable loss of weight is likely to have occurred. Immunization coverage, except for BCG, and exclusive breastfeeding levels were poor.