Stunting Prevention FAQ
Q. 1
What is stunting?
Stunting is a form of malnutrition that occurs when a child’s height is “more than 2 standard deviations (< −2 Z) below the age-sex specific mean, as defined by the World Health Organization’s (WHO) reference population.” Stunting is established in utero through the first 5 years of life, and can result in long-term health problems including “diminished cognitive and physical development, reduced productive capacity and poor health, and an increased risk of degenerative diseases such as diabetes.” This condition impacts 155 million children, or 22.9% of the world’s population under the age of 5. For more information, check out this explanation from the WHO.
Q. 2
Q. 3
How prevalent is stunting in Tanzania?
Unfortunately, specific data does not exist on the prevalence of stunting in the locality that we are serving. However, we estimate that it is fairly high based on our observations on the ground and through talking to principals at local schools. In Tanzania as a whole, 32% of all children under 5 suffer from stunted growth, compared to 21% worldwide, and this number is known to be higher in Maasai communities.
Q. 4
What are some of the health consequences of stunting?
Stunting is linked to a variety of severe health consequences, including “diminished cognitive and physical development, reduced productive capacity and poor health, and an increased risk of degenerative diseases such as diabetes.” Poverty, child marriage prevalence, and low educational attainment cause the consequences of stunting to persist intergenerationally.
Q. 5
How has COVID-19 impacted stunting?
Though most post-COVID data on stunting has not been published yet, COVID is likely to lead to some degree of increase in stunting rates. In countries with a high-risk for stunting and poor health infrastructure, COVID has led to a lack of access to health facilities and increased food insecurity, though the full extent of this is not yet known. Contracting COVID-19 can also be a contributing factor to stunted growth, especially when combined with other factors such as parasitic worm infection, lack of nutrition, etc.
How can stunting rates be reduced?
Q. 6
In order to reduce stunting prevalence rates in communities most affected by malnutrition an array of solutions must be implemented to combat the underlying causes, namely: food insecurity, lack of prenatal care, malaria, lack of sanitation services. This is why Lalafofofo-Amka Sasa’s Stunting Prevention Program provides participants with healthy foods, pre-natal care (i.e. iron-folic acid), mosquito nets, hand-washing tutorials and water jugs as a means to combat stunting from all sides and all stages.
Q. 7
How are participants chosen for the anti-stunting program?
The anti-stunting program prioritizes women and up to 2 of their young children based on age and pregnancy status.
Q. 8
How does the anti-stunting program tie into Lalafofofo’s other work?
All of Lalafofofo’s programs feed into each other. For example, the anti-stunting program and the child marriage prevention intiative. Both programs serve the same demographic within, as young mothers are significantly more likely to have stunted children than older ones, as well as to be stunted themselves. By taking action against both stunting and child marriage at the same time, Lalafofofo hopes to reduce the prevalence of both issues in the community.
Q. 9
How has Lalafofofo involved the community in creating this program?
The stunting prevention program operates with the blessing of the Tindigani village elders. All of the work on the ground is done by Tanzanian employees of Lalafofofo’s Tanzanian affiliate organization, Amka Sasa.