Abstract
Angola is one of the southern African countries with the highest prevalence of anemia, and despite the high geographic heterogeneity of its distribution across the country, it was reported to be indicative of a severe public health problem in some areas, mainly in children. Despite the relevance of this condition in the country there is still an important gap regarding scientific evidences and knowledge systematization in the indexed literature, that could be used to inform and optimize national public health policies willing to address it. Furthermore, the changes in anemia epidemiology among African preschool children and the late updates in nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive preventive strategies in the continent are of imperative relevance, as they could contribute to design context-specific national approaches to reduce anemia's morbidity and mortality. In this study we intent to perform a systematic review regarding the sparse evidence available on the country regarding the prevalence of anemia, its associated factors, the prevention, and/or control strategies with potential to reduce anemia that were implemented, and to discuss interventions targeting infections and/or nutrition conducted in other African countries.
Highlights
The prevalence of anemia in 2011 for 6- to 59-month children from the WHO’s African region, was 62%, presenting a substantial geographic variability.[1]
There is lack of evidence in Angola regarding the prevalence of anemia and the determinants that influence its occurrence
Reports from the WHO mentioned that the prevalence for Angolan preschool children between 1998 and 1999 was 29.7%, representative of a moderate public health problem.[19]
Summary
The prevalence of anemia in 2011 for 6- to 59-month children from the WHO’s African region, was 62%, presenting a substantial geographic variability.[1] For instance, in that year, Tunisia, Libya, Algeria, Morocco, Seychelles, and Rwanda had the lowest prevalence’s in Africa (29%–38%), followed by South Africa, Botswana, Djibouti, Mauritius, Swaziland, Egypt, Kenya, Burundi, Lesotho, Namibia, Ethiopia, and Madagascar (41%– 50%); Comoros, Angola, Uganda, Somalia, Zambia, Eritrea, Sao Tome and Principe, Sudan, Zimbabwe, Cabo Verde, and Gabon (51%–60%); Tanzania, Cameron, Benin, Congo, Gambia, Malawi, Mozambique, and Democratic Republic of Congo (61%–67%); and the remaining countries of the continent having the highest prevalence’s (71%–86%).[1] Temporal variations were observed among those countries, presenting sex- and age-. A Health Research Center of Angola (CISA), Angola Bengo province, Caxito city, b Institute of Public Health, University of Porto, Porto, c Department of Human Genetics, National Institute of Health Dr Ricardo Jorge, d BioISI, Faculty of Science, University of Lisboa, e Health and Technology Research Center (H&TRC), Escola Superior de Tecnologia da Saude de Lisboa, Instituto. ∗. Centro de Investigação em Saude Instituto.
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