Inequities in under-five child malnutrition in South Africa

Simple item page
dc.contributor.authorZere, Eyoben_ZA
dc.contributor.authorMcIntyre, Dianeen_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2015-10-12T10:54:17Z
dc.date.available2015-10-12T10:54:17Z
dc.date.issued2003en_ZA
dc.description.abstractOBJECTIVES:To assess and quantify the magnitude of inequalities in under-five child malnutrition, particularly those ascribable to socio-economic status and to consider the policy implications of these findings. METHODS: Data on 3765 under-five children were derived from the Living Standards and Development Survey. Household income, proxied by per capita household expenditure, was used as the main indicator of socio-economic status. Socio-economic inequality in malnutrition (stunting, underweight and wasting) was measured using the illness concentration index. The concentration index was calculated for the whole sample, as well as for different population groups, areas of residence (rural, urban and metropolitan) and for each province. RESULTS: Stunting was found to be the most prevalent form of malnutrition in South Africa. Consistent with expectation, the rate of stunting is observed to be the highest in the Eastern Cape and the Northern Province - provinces with the highest concentration of poverty. There are considerable pro-rich inequalities in the distribution of stunting and underweight. However, wasting does not manifest gradients related to socio-economic position. Among White children, no inequities are observed in all three forms of malnutrition. The highest pro-rich inequalities in stunting and underweight are found among Coloured children and metropolitan areas. There is a tendency for high pro-rich concentration indices in those provinces with relatively lower rates of stunting and underweight (Gauteng and the Western Cape). CONCLUSION: There are significant differences in under-five child malnutrition (stunting and underweight) that favour the richest of society. These are unnecessary, avoidable and unjust. It is demonstrated that addressing such socio-economic gradients in ill-health, which perpetuate inequalities in the future adult population requires a sound evidence base. Reliance on global averages alone can be misleading. Thus there is a need for evaluating policies not only in terms of improvements in averages, but also improvements in distribution. Furthermore, addressing problems of stunting and underweight, which are found to be responsive to improvements in household income status, requires initiatives that transcend the medical arena.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationZere, E., & McIntyre, D. (2003). Inequities in under-five child malnutrition in South Africa. <i>International Journal for Equity in Health</i>, http://hdl.handle.net/11427/14179en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationZere, Eyob, and Diane McIntyre "Inequities in under-five child malnutrition in South Africa." <i>International Journal for Equity in Health</i> (2003) http://hdl.handle.net/11427/14179en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationZere, E., & McIntyre, D. (2003). Inequities in under-five child malnutrition in South Africa. International Journal for Equity in Health, 2(1), 7.en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Journal Article AU - Zere, Eyob AU - McIntyre, Diane AB - OBJECTIVES:To assess and quantify the magnitude of inequalities in under-five child malnutrition, particularly those ascribable to socio-economic status and to consider the policy implications of these findings. METHODS: Data on 3765 under-five children were derived from the Living Standards and Development Survey. Household income, proxied by per capita household expenditure, was used as the main indicator of socio-economic status. Socio-economic inequality in malnutrition (stunting, underweight and wasting) was measured using the illness concentration index. The concentration index was calculated for the whole sample, as well as for different population groups, areas of residence (rural, urban and metropolitan) and for each province. RESULTS: Stunting was found to be the most prevalent form of malnutrition in South Africa. Consistent with expectation, the rate of stunting is observed to be the highest in the Eastern Cape and the Northern Province - provinces with the highest concentration of poverty. There are considerable pro-rich inequalities in the distribution of stunting and underweight. However, wasting does not manifest gradients related to socio-economic position. Among White children, no inequities are observed in all three forms of malnutrition. The highest pro-rich inequalities in stunting and underweight are found among Coloured children and metropolitan areas. There is a tendency for high pro-rich concentration indices in those provinces with relatively lower rates of stunting and underweight (Gauteng and the Western Cape). CONCLUSION: There are significant differences in under-five child malnutrition (stunting and underweight) that favour the richest of society. These are unnecessary, avoidable and unjust. It is demonstrated that addressing such socio-economic gradients in ill-health, which perpetuate inequalities in the future adult population requires a sound evidence base. Reliance on global averages alone can be misleading. Thus there is a need for evaluating policies not only in terms of improvements in averages, but also improvements in distribution. Furthermore, addressing problems of stunting and underweight, which are found to be responsive to improvements in household income status, requires initiatives that transcend the medical arena. DA - 2003 DB - OpenUCT DO - 10.1186/1475-9276-2-7 DP - University of Cape Town J1 - International Journal for Equity in Health LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2003 T1 - Inequities in under-five child malnutrition in South Africa TI - Inequities in under-five child malnutrition in South Africa UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/14179 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/14179
dc.identifier.urihttp://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1475-9276-2-7
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationZere E, McIntyre D. Inequities in under-five child malnutrition in South Africa. International Journal for Equity in Health. 2003; http://hdl.handle.net/11427/14179.en_ZA
dc.language.isoengen_ZA
dc.publisherBioMed Central Ltden_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentHealth Economics Uniten_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Health Sciencesen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.rightsThis is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licenseen_ZA
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0en_ZA
dc.sourceInternational Journal for Equity in Healthen_ZA
dc.source.uridoi:10.1186/1475-9276en_ZA
dc.subject.otherinequityen_ZA
dc.subject.otherunder-five child malnutritionen_ZA
dc.subject.othersocio-economic statusen_ZA
dc.subject.otherconcentration indexen_ZA
dc.subject.otherSouth Africaen_ZA
dc.titleInequities in under-five child malnutrition in South Africaen_ZA
dc.typeJournal Articleen_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceArticleen_ZA
Files
Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
Zere_Inequities_child_malnutrition_in_South_Africa_2003.pdf
Size:
289.86 KB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
Download
Collections
Journal Articles