Infant Health and Care: An Urban Perspective

Abstract

Nearly 90 percent of the projected urban population increase is concentrated in Africa and Asia [1]regions that harbour majority of world’ malnourished children today. Approximately one in three undernourished children now live in urban settings and in 13 countries urban stunting rates are above 30% [2]. Broad evidences exemplify that malnutrition in urban areas is a growing reality [3], though there is a dearth of studies in this regard. In terms of infant nutrition, we have far little evidences. In a relatively early work using Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) data for 43 countries [4-6] showed that in Latin American and Caribbean countries young children in big cities have stunted growth while in Asian countries children in large cities did not reflect a remarkable advantage over those in small cities or rural areas. However, in a recent study on 26 countries’ data, [7] found that the large urban areas of developing countries have lower infant mortality and malnutrition levels. While this could be average picture for urban areas, infant health and nutrition among the urban poor is likely as big a challenge as among the rural counterparts. This can be explained in terms of growing inequality and disparity in urban areas[8-10], due to which a considerable population segment perpetuates on the periphery amidst overall prosperous urban landscape.