Letters to the Editor

Abstract

Save the Children Fund founded the Childrens Nutrition Unit (CNU) a nutrition rehabilitation center in Dhaka Bangladesh in 1975. It has reduced the mortality rate of children (0-10 years) while hospitalized from 25% in 1976 to 5% in 1986. To determine survival and growth of patients after discharge CNU staff located 220 (45%) of all children <5 years old who were admitted to the Unit 2 years earlier for severe protein energy malnutrition (PEM). The researchers matched 150 children attending the outpatient department (OPD) for age sex and date of anthropometric measurement with the located children. A 2nd control group consisted of 130 healthy siblings of the study children. All children in the study and control groups came from urban poor families. The located children had a significantly higher attendance rate in CNUs follow up clinic than those not located. The mean weight for height of the study group stood at 90% of Harvard Standard Median with 88.5% of the children above 80%. 89.5% of sibling controls ranked above the 80% weight for height median while only 42.6% of the OPD controls were above it. The sibling group had a mean weight for height of 87% thereby having a better nutritional status than the OPD controls (76%). 15% of the children in the OPD control group had severe PEM whereas no one had it in either the other groups. 50.1% of the study cases and 32.5% of the siblings were classified as normal nutritional status but only 2.4% of the OPD controls were so classified. The results suggest that mothers nutrition education and awareness contribute to improved nutrition status of all her children. Further many children who had severe PEM or other conditions can recover satisfactorily at home in an urban slum after intensive nutrition rehabilitation and treatment.