The Epidemic Of Malaria And Malnutrition

Despite the vast research on nutrition and health, malnutrition is still a major fatality in this present day. Policymakers, social scientist and medical experts have expressed alarm about the growing problem. While most agree that the issue deserves attention, consensus dissolves around how to respond and resolve the problem. Malnourishment continues to be a primary health liability in developing nations such as Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America. It is globally the most significant risk factor for illness and death, predominantly with hundreds of millions of pregnant women

For the most part, all of the researchers findings agreed with each other, but some researchers found that certain measures would be more effective than others. Fullman, Burstein, Lim, Medlin and Gakidou (2013) examined the impacts of using bed nets, spray, or even both to prevent transmission. They found that people living in low and medium transmission areas had both insecticide treated bed nets and used indoor residual sprays. They also found that the risk of malaria was reduced by 53% with the use of both these interventions (Fullman et al., 2013) However, Olowookere et al. (2013) disagreed, suggesting that the use of insecticide treated nets and preventive education would decrease the spread of this disease. Eisele, Larsen, Walker, Cibulski, Yukich, Zikusooka, and Steketee (2012) agreed with both researchers on the use of bed nets, stating that over a 10 year scale-up of malaria prevention roughly “842,800 potential child deaths were prevented” (p. 96) and “roughly 831,100 of those 842,800 deaths were prevented through the contribution of insecticide treated bed nets” (p. 96) . Along with the rest of the researchers, Lim, Fullman, Stokes, Ravishankar, Masiye, Murray and Gakidou (2013) found that “sleeping under bed nets reduced the malaria prevalence among children by 24 %”(p. 8) and “the ownership of one bed net would reduce child mortality by 23%” (p. 8).

“What does malnutrition look like? Most of us think of bloated bellies or skin and bones, but the appearance of a hungry child might surprise you. Internationally hunger often stunts growth. Imagine a 9-year-old who appears to be only 5” (“Feed the Children.” Feed). Almost 1 billion kids worldwide live in poverty and 1 in 4 children around the world suffer from malnutrition that stunts growth (“Feed the Children.” Give). This is a very big problem not only in America but everywhere else, malnutrition is the cause of almost half of child deaths each year around the world (“Feed the Children.” Give). It is close to impossible for a malnourished child to recover from diarrhea or to fight off a small illness because their immune system is just simply too weak (“Feed the Children.”

“Malaria kills half a million people each year … [with a hefty] price tag for

Malaria is generally more prevalent in areas with higher poverty levels than the richer areas of the world. “Children (six to 59 months) from the second, third, fourth and richest quintiles were significantly less likely to have malaria compared to children from the poorest quintiles. Children (five to 14 years) from the fourth and richest quintiles were also significantly less likely to have malaria compared to those from the poorest quintiles. The malaria burden has shifted from the under-five children (six to 59 months) to

Around 300-600 million people suffer from malaria each year, and over one million people die from this disease every year, mostly children younger than five. This disease is endemic to over 100 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and the South Pacific, almost 40% of the world population. Malaria is caused by a parasite that is transferred by the bite of an infected female Anopheles mosquito. The most deadly form of malaria is known as Plasmodium falciparum because almost all deaths from malaria are caused by this specific one. In addition to being the deadliest form of malaria, Plasmodium falciparum destroys red blood cells along with causing complications with the kidneys, lungs, and brain. In more serious cases, it can cause permanent neurological effects and even death. As the Nobel Assembly said at the announcement of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, “Diseases caused by parasites have plagued humankind for a millennium and constitute a major global health problem. In particular, parasitic diseases affect the world’s poorest populations and represent a huge barrier to improving human health and wellbeing”. Youyou Tu, one of the winners of the prize, discovered Artemisinin, a drug that has significantly reduced the mortality rates for patients suffering from malaria by killing the malaria parasites an early stage of their development.

Malaria is a preventable disease transmitted by a female anopheles mosquito that has a global annual death impact of over one million mainly concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa (Patricia Schlagenhauf-Lawlor, & Funk-Baumann, M., 2005, pg. 6)(1). Although malaria is almost unheard of in developed countries like the United States, in the early 1900s malaria was just as prevalent as it is in sub-Saharan Africa today. The United States has eradicated local malaria due to increased finances and physician led public health missions in the 1940’s in the form of the DDT campaign(Humphries, 2001, pg. 2). However, in underdeveloped countries mainly located in tropical areas, the death toll to malaria continues to rise due to challenges and barriers between accumulating hefty finances, adequate resources and delivering affective outreach programs( Jennifer Kates, Michaud, J., Wexler, A., Valentine, A., 2013)(3).

In the 1950s, UNICEF spiraled into a set of mass campaigns of epidemic diseases such as tuberculosis, yaws, trachoma, leprosy and malaria; this decade was knows as the “Era of Mass Disease Campaign”. UNICEF worked to complement and help the World Health Organization, WHO. They worked with each disease independently depending on the incredibly high amount of cases of each illness in each region. With the help of immense advancements with technology and medicine within the last century, UNICEF was able to effectively treat thousands - even millions- of cases within each region. They’re campaigns were successful in decreasing the rates of infection and malnutrition

Seventeen distinct diseases run rampant through developing countries, known as the neglected tropical diseases. They infect an average of 2.7 billion people world wide, but mainly infect those living in poverty stricken countries. These diseases can lead to life-long disabilities, disfigurement, and promote poverty. Most of the infected countries live on an average of two U.S. dollars a day with no access to healthcare, making some of the relatively cheap drug therapies unattainable. Even though the neglected tropical diseases infect over two billion people and cause an average of five-hundred thousand deaths a year respectively, research and awareness for these diseases are virtually nonexistent. Since these diseases are not found in first world countries with adequate health care, research and funding is not seen as a priority.

Another reason this wouldn’t be effective is because bacteria is progressing and becoming smarter, more manipulative and can resist easier than back then. Malaria will most likely look for another host to live off of. There are thousands of other species on Earth that haven’t been discovered yet, so it’s impossible to say only female mosquitoes are the only carriers of this parasitic disease (CDC, 2011). This parasite could be living in an unknown organism and could have the potential to cause just as much damage as the mosquito can. Malaria (in rare cases if not in a

Hunger and malnutrition in Africa has been on the increase, have affected many Africans in different ways since 1900’s. Children and adults both are facing devastating hunger and malnutrition crisis across a south of Africa. Some of the regions that are strongly affected by hunger and malnutrition issues includes Countries like Ethiopia, Kenya and Zambia. Commonness of malnourishment in total populations of Kenya is 28% in Ethiopia 37% and in Zambia 45%. People in these populations are suffering from hunger and malnutrition in large numbers. In some parts of Africa parents have hard time providing nutritious food to their children due to crop failures, sky rocketing food prices and insecurity. According to the Secretary of United States General Kofi Annan mentioned that African leaders are mismanaging their abundant resources. He also stated that under use of their resources abundant resources has become the very source of Africa’s misery. The main reason for hunger and malnutrition of their people is being the lack of resources in Africa on counties in Africa. In some of the countries in Africa hunger and malnutrition have deadly effects on majority of the population. There are lot of deficiency among millions of Africans which includes malnutrition diseases like protein energy deficiency, anemia, and vitamin A deficiency, and which are effecting and killing them especially children.

Malnutrition and unclean water are major causes of death in developing countries. While people in developed countries have access to a glass of fresh water anytime of the day, it’s quite the contrary for people in developed countries whose only source of water is the river that’s miles away. This goes for food as well. Undernourished kids have a hard time developing and are less resistant to diseases (i). Insufficient nutrients contribute to rising child mortality (ii); mothers are unable to breastfeed their babies since they are undernourished themselves (ii). In some instances, girls are required to eat last after the males due to their culture. The consequences of malnutrition are many; the leading results are lower IQs, heart disease,

Malnutrition is defined as “lack of proper nutrition, caused by not having enough to eat, not eating enough of the right things, or being unable to use the food that one does eat”. Some may argue that the main concept of malnutrition has to do with the amount of food and water that a certain group of people consumes in a specific location. Others are more likely to argue that it has to do with the bacteria and things that the food and water contain. It is both of these things. Malnutrition is a serious problem worldwide, but there is particular concentration in certain areas in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. Not only is malnutrition an issue with the general population of people, but it is the biggest contributor to the deaths of children. There are political, economic, and cultural factors about this issue that can be analyzed to further explain the global health issue of malnutrition in children, and its international response.

According to the Malaria Vaccine Institute, almost 600 million people suffer from malaria each year, and more than one million people die from this disease every year, the most deaths come from children younger than five. Malaria is endemic in over 100 countries, around 40% of the world population. Malaria is caused by a parasite that is transferred by the bite of an infected female Anopheles mosquito. The most deadly form of malaria is known as Plasmodium falciparum, almost all deaths from malaria are caused by this specific form. In addition to being the deadliest form of malaria, Plasmodium falciparum destroys red blood cells along with causing complications with the kidneys, lungs, and

Malnutrition is the result of a combination of factors. They include cultural inhibitions causing low adoption of exclusive breast feeding, poor understanding of complementary feeding; insufficient awareness of nutritional needs lack of purchasing power leading to inadequate access to food, inequitable distribution of available food and poor food habits. The other key indirect causes include lack of health care services, non availability of clean water and safe sanitation, poverty and lack of livelihood opportunities.