Malnutrition and diarrhoea tackled at Commonwealth conference

Diarrhoea is one of the commonest global causes of deaths among children.

The “vast majority” of nearly 2 million deaths each year of children under five occur in resource-poor areas such as South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, according to Lloyd Bwanaisa and researchers of the University of Malawi.

But, says Mr Bwanaisa, despite the high number of incidents, “signs of critical illness in severely dehydrated children are poorly recognised - particularly in resource-poor settings where management protocols have not been adequately evaluated."

Mr Bwanaisa’s research topic was among dozens presented by health care practitioners and researchers at the Tenth Congress on Diarrhoea and Malnutrition in Malawi last week.

The conference - organised by the Commonwealth Association for Paediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition (CAPGAN) and hosted by the Malawi College of Medicine in the city of Blantyre - allowed scores of practitioners from around the Commonwealth to gather together to discuss child health.

CAPGAN President Bhupinder Sandhu said in her closing speech that it was “unacceptable” that so many children around the world die before the age of five.

She said: “As paediatricians and health workers we have a responsibility to care for children’s immediate medical needs but we also need to ensure that the rights of children are realised. We need to act as advocates for children.”

The congress, which lasted between 12 and 16 August 2009, featured speeches by Professor Geert Tom Heikens, chair of the Department of Paediatrics at the College of Medicine in the UK, and Mary Shawa, principal secretary for HIV and Nutrition in the Malawian Government.

Participants were able to join in discussions and hear about new papers on some of the most pressing issues in paediatric health, including diarrhoea prevention, the prevalence of gastrointestinal organisms, the use of antibiotics, infant feeding, and HIV among children in Africa.

Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma, speaking on the eve of the conference, said Malawi was “especially suited” as “a centre of some very important research in the fields of paediatric diarrhoea and malnutrition”.

He said: “Researchers, health care workers and stakeholders in this field can have a tremendous impact on achieving the Millennium Development Goals of reducing hunger and child mortality.

“I wish CAPGAN and all the participants a very successful and productive Congress, and continued success in the future.”

Key Links:

• Health
• Country Profile: Malawi

Related News:

• Commonwealth Association of Paediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition