What can be done to improve child health
The World Health Organization estimates that about 3.9 million children under the age of five die every year from preventable causes, a number that has been declining since 1990. The fundamental causes are lack of access to quality health-care services and vaccines, unhealthy living habits and malnutrition among others.
While the world has witnessed great progress against child and maternal mortality over the past century, too many women and children still die every day from preventable causes.
Almost half of all maternal deaths in India occur during delivery, with the most common cause being obstructed labour. For example, in 2016, nearly half the pregnant women in India died due to complications in pregnancy or childbirth before they reached hospital. The United Nations estimates that for every dollar invested in family planning, health care and education, three dollars are saved in developing countries
To improve child health, governments and international agencies have begun to focus on increasing the nutritional intake of young children, and ensuring that they are not overfed (Batten, 2018). Children living in more urban areas are more likely to suffer from child malnutrition, which can be caused by a variety of factors including issues with access to food and clean water. Distressed nutrition, in turn, can lead to poor physical and cognitive development, and long-term health problems (Arun & Akhil, 2018). International agencies and nongovernmental actors, such as the World Health Organization (WHO),
Child health has been improving gradually since the early twentieth century, yet every year we lose more than 200,000 young lives to preventable causes like accidents and disease.
In 2016 alone, more than 270,000 children in India were undernourished, a number that is an all-time high.
In most health care systems, a pregnant woman has a legal right to choose the kind of care she receives throughout her pregnancy, but access to it and to high-quality care is unequal. This inequality is often related to maternal age at delivery, maternal education or income, where the woman lives, and the gender of the child.
We urgently need to improve our understanding of how children’s health and nutrition is affected by urban environments to prevent preventable deaths worldwide.
The most critical change needed to improve the lives of 1.2 billion children going hungry every day in India is to increase their access to quality food. In 2016, one in three Indian children under the age of five was stunted, a number that is an all-time high. Nearly half of all children under five in India are anemic, a number that is also an all-time high. In most states, over half of children under five are underweight, a number that is also an all-time high.
Urbanization is one of the most significant and long-term demographic and socioeconomic changes affecting children’s health and nutrition. Today, around half of the world’s children live in cities, and this number is expected to increase to two-thirds by 2050. In cities, children have access to better nutrition and care, but they are also exposed to greater risks such as pollution, noise and physical danger. The changes that occur in urban environments can have a major impact on the health and wellbeing of children.
The World Health Organization estimates that about 3.9 million children under the age of five die every year from preventable causes, a number that has been declining since 1990. The fundamental causes are lack of access to quality health-care services and vaccines, unhealthy living habits and malnutrition among others. While the world has witnessed great progress against child and maternal mortality over the past century, too many women and children still die every day from preventable causes. Almost half of all maternal deaths in India occur during delivery, with the most common cause being obstructed labour. For example, in 2016, nearly half the pregnant women in India died due to complications in pregnancy or childbirth before they reached hospital. The United Nations estimates that for every dollar invested in family planning, health care and education, three dollars are saved in developing countries
To improve child health, governments and international agencies have begun to focus on increasing the nutritional intake of young children, and ensuring that they are not overfed (Batten, 2018). Children living in more urban areas are more likely to suffer from child malnutrition, which can be caused by a variety of factors including issues with access to food and clean water. Distressed nutrition, in turn, can lead to poor physical and cognitive development, and long-term health problems (Arun & Akhil, 2018). International agencies and nongovernmental actors, such as the World Health Organization (WHO),
Child health has been improving gradually since the early twentieth century, yet every year we lose more than 200,000 young lives to preventable causes like accidents and disease.
In 2016 alone, more than 270,000 children in India were undernourished, a number that is an all-time high.
In most health care systems, a pregnant woman has a legal right to choose the kind of care she receives throughout her pregnancy, but access to it and to high-quality care is unequal. This inequality is often related to maternal age at delivery, maternal education or income, where the woman lives, and the gender of the child.
We urgently need to improve our understanding of how children’s health and nutrition is affected by urban environments to prevent preventable deaths worldwide.
The most critical change needed to improve the lives of 1.2 billion children going hungry every day in India is to increase their access to quality food. In 2016, one in three Indian children under the age of five was stunted, a number that is an all-time high. Nearly half of all children under five in India are anemic, a number that is also an all-time high. In most states, over half of children under five are underweight, a number that is also an all-time high.
Urbanization is one of the most significant and long-term demographic and socioeconomic changes affecting children’s health and nutrition. Today, around half of the world’s children live in cities, and this number is expected to increase to two-thirds by 2050. In cities, children have access to better nutrition and care, but they are also exposed to greater risks such as pollution, noise and physical danger. The changes that occur in urban environments can have a major impact on the health and wellbeing of children.
The impact of urbanization on children’s health is complex, with some studies showing a positive relationship between urbanization and child health, and others showing a negative relationship. Overall, the evidence suggests that children’s health is harmed by being too urban, but the extent to which this happens is dependent on the context in which the child lives. For example, in urban areas where children are exposed to a lot of pollution, the negative impact of urbanization may be more pronounced. However, in areas where the quality of the environment is good, the negative impact of urbanization may be less pronounced.
The impact of urbanization on children’s health is complex, with some studies showing a positive relationship between urbanization and child health, and others showing a negative relationship. Overall, the evidence suggests that children’s health is harmed by being too urban, but the extent to which this happens is dependent on the context in which the child lives. For example, in urban areas where children are exposed to a lot of pollution, the negative impact of urbanization may be more pronounced. However, in areas where the quality of the environment is good, the negative impact of urbanization may be less pronounced.
