War, Mom Behaviors Hurt Afghan Kid Health

Poor child health in Afghanistan can be linked not just to war, but also to a lack of maternal education and autonomy, researchers said.

Child health in Afghanistan suffers from the impact of war — shortages of water, food and shelter and the forced displacement of families — as well as family behaviors, the researchers said.

Taufiq Mashal of the Graduate School of Tokyo Medical and Dental University and colleagues from the Ministry of Public Health in Kabul, Afghanistan, said the mortality rate for children under age 5 in Afghanistan was 191/1,000 live births.

The study involved 1,327 households from urban and rural areas of Kabul province. The research team recorded height, weight and other health indicators of 2,474 children under age 5.

The study, published in the journal BMC Public Health, found that 32.5 percent of children suffered from acute diarrhea and 41.5 percent from respiratory illnesses, respectively. The prevalence of emaciation and growth retardation was 12.4 percent and 39.9 percent, respectively.

There were correlations between those health conditions and family behaviors. For instance, a mother’s lack of autonomy was associated with acute respiratory illness and growth retardation while a lack of maternal education and marriage during childhood were found to be associated with the incidence of diarrhea.