Poor complementary feeding practices among young children in Cameroon

  • Samuel Nambile Cumber University of KwaZulu-Natal
  • Nancy Bongkiynuy Under Privilege Children and Women Assistance (UPCAWA-SWEDEN)
  • Shalom Jaila Under Privilege Children and Women Assistance (UPCAWA-SWEDEN)
  • Joyce Mahlako Tsoka-Gwegweni University of KwaZulu-Natal
Keywords: Feeding, Practice, Children

Abstract

Globally, 6.9 million children below the age of five years died in 2011, and 33% of these deaths are linked to malnutrition.1 Nutrition plays a vital role in the development and health of children.2 Children during the first two years of life are particularly vulnerable to growth retardation, micronutrient deficiencies, and common childhood illnesses such as diarrhoea and acute respiratory infections.3,4 Insufficient quantities and inadequate quality of complementary foods, poor child-feeding practices and high rates of infections have a detrimental impact on health and growth during the first two years of life.5 Children, even after receiving optimum breastfeeding, will become stunted if they do not receive sufficient quantities of quality complementary foods after six months of age.6 Despite the fight against malnutrition in Cameroon, infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices are generally poor and appear not to have improved due to poor education of parents/caregivers, cultural practices and poverty.3,7

Author Biographies

Samuel Nambile Cumber, University of KwaZulu-Natal
Discipline of Public Health Medicine Department of Nursing & Public Health College of Health Sciences University of KwaZulu-Natal Durban South Africa
Nancy Bongkiynuy, Under Privilege Children and Women Assistance (UPCAWA-SWEDEN)
Under Privilege Children and Women Assistance (UPCAWA-SWEDEN) Researcher Cameroon Branch Bamenda Cameroon
Shalom Jaila, Under Privilege Children and Women Assistance (UPCAWA-SWEDEN)
Under Privilege Children and Women Assistance (UPCAWA-SWEDEN) Researcher Cameroon Branch Bamenda Cameroon
Joyce Mahlako Tsoka-Gwegweni, University of KwaZulu-Natal
Discipline of Public Health Medicine Department of Nursing & Public Health College of Health Sciences University of KwaZulu-Natal Durban South Africa
Published
2017-06-22
How to Cite
Cumber, S., Bongkiynuy, N., Jaila, S., & Tsoka-Gwegweni, J. (2017). Poor complementary feeding practices among young children in Cameroon. South African Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 30(2), 37-38. Retrieved from http://sajcn.co.za/index.php/SAJCN/article/view/1202
Section
Letters to the Editor