Multidimensional Nutritional Welfare of Children in Southern Africa: A Human Rights Consistent Approach.

Abstract

The last 10 years have witnessed a surge in international focus on the long-term health and socioeconomic impacts of malnutrition. Here, we employ a rights consistent approach to evaluate the nutritional welfare of children under 5 years in Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Specifically, we apply a first order dominance (FOD) approach to multidimensional welfare measurement. In this context, nutritional welfare dimensions are treated as rights. With the FOD approach, comparisons across time and space adhere to key principles set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. For comparison, we also apply the Alkire-Foster (AF) approach, which is well known for its application in the United Nations Development Programme's Multidimensional Poverty Index. Indicators relevant to the nutritional welfare of young children are drawn from Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) from the early- to mid-2000s and the most recent data point. Four common welfare indicators crucial to child nutrition are employed in both the FOD and AF approaches: stunting/wasting, drinking water, sanitation facilities, and mother's education. Over time, all countries advanced the nutritional wellbeing of children at the national and rural levels. Malawi made the most pronounced gains improving its rank among the 5 countries considered from fourth to second among nations and among urban areas. Though Mozambique made substantial progress in access to urban and rural water, rural sanitation, and urban education, relatively small gains in stunting and wasting widened the nutritional welfare gap with its neighbors. Nationally, nutritional welfare levels in Mozambique remain notably low ranking below the rural areas in all other countries. Even urban areas in Mozambique are ranked below rural Malawi and rural Zimbabwe. Stagnation or decline in access to safe urban water and/or sanitation, as well as nutrition in Mozambique, prevented advance in the urban areas of Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.