CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION
Given the high prevalence of malnutrition in Africa, Exclusive Breastfeeding (EBF) offers a fool proof method to deter stunted growth and development in the African subcontinent. Malnutrition has been identified to be the direct cause of about 300,000 deaths every year and indirectly the cause of about half the deaths among young children in Africa (Müller et.al, 2005). Hence, the need for exclusive breastfeeding as the first stage of nutrition is the as a way to prevent malnutrition.
The early first years of a child’s life is the most vital and delicate period of development. It is the stage at which a healthy child goes through rapid development, psychologically and physically. A child at this stage needs good nutrition for his or her physical, mental, and immune system development. Moreover, it is at this stage that the comprehension and sensation potentials of a child begin to develop, as well as the base of intellectual, social, and emotional competencies of the child (Michaelsen et al, 2003). Sadly, due to the level of poverty in sub-Saharan Africa, most children at this stage in the region are prone to poor nutrition (Bain et al., 2013).
Poor nutrition, or malnutrition, results in growth abnormality and easy contraction of infectious diseases due to a weak immune system that is caused by the disease. It also causes problems such as deficiency in learning, lack of development of social skills, behavioral abnormality, and defects in educational achievement (Michaelsen et al., 2003).
MALNUTRITION
Figure 1: Malnourished African Children. (Credit: Bilkis Ogunnubi, 2016)
Malnutrition is defined as the lack of enough, too much, or unbalanced energy and/or nutrients in a person’s diet (WHO, 2017). There are three types of malnutrition: undernutrition, micronutrient related malnutrition, and overweight/obesity (WHO, 2017).
Undernutrition is the deficiency or lack of energy and nutrients in the body which results in stunted growth, wasting, or underweight. Wasting is having severe low weigh for height of the body. It indicates lack of enough food or reoccurrence of diarrhea (WHO, 2017). Stunted growth is having low height for the age of a person. It indicates persistent undernutrition and it is often related to deficiency in maternal health, recurrent illness or poor feeding during infancy.
Stunting deprives children from attaining their deserved physical size. Studies have shown that stunting is prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia.
