Child, Maternal Hospital Records Malnutrition Cases

A number of children sent to the Child and Maternal Hospital in Kumasi for treatment show signs of malnutrition. Presently, 225 children suffering from severe forms of malnutrition are being treated at the Out Patients Department (OPD) while 20 of such children are on admission at the facility. Mrs Sandra Ama Pomaa Asuming, a Senior Nutrition Officer, made these known when a delegation from the Pregnancy Stress Foundation (PSF), a non-governmental organisation (NGO), paid a working visit to the hospital in Kumasi on Wednesday. The visit was to enable the organisation which counsels, protects and promotes safe delivery and child development to ascertain the nutritional status of children at the hospital. Causes of malnutrition Mrs Asuming attributed the high incidence of malnutrition among children to ignorance, poverty and improper breastfeeding at the early stages of their growth. She said ignorance among some parents on proper dieting affected the growth of their children, especially from the first six months to the 24th month of birth, exposing the children to diseases caused by malnutrition. �Improper breastfeeding as a result of poverty among lactating mothers is another underlining factor, which woefully retarded the growth of most developing children�, she said. Nutrition Unit Mrs Asuming said the Nutrition Unit of the hospital was embarking on continuous counselling sessions at the wards, Ante-Natal Clinics (ANC) and weighing units, to educate mothers on the benefits of proper feeding. Madam Victoria Darko, the Executive Director of PSF Ghana, said the aim of the visit was to find out the nutritional state of the children and provide financial support to parents to enable them to provide the needed food for their children. She said the foundation was setting up a corn milling centre in Kumasi to help provide nutritional organic foods to the hospital to feed the malnourished children who were receiving treatment at the facility.