Cultural beliefs and practices as they relate to child malnutrition: A case study of Kibera slum village

Abstract

The present study aimed at investigating cultural factors associated with the prevalence of malnutrition among pre-school children in Kibera slum area in Nairobi. A random sample of 200 households with children aged 6-60 months was selected using Stratified Cluster sampling method. Questionnaires, observation and anthropometric measurements were instruments employed in collecting data. The statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS) was used for the data analysis. Chi-Square tests were conducted to establish the relationship between the dependent and independent variables. The study revealed patterns of intra-familial distribution of food that favour the adult and elderly over young children. In most households, the children were served last or ate after the adults had eaten. These findings suggest that improvement in nutrition cannot be achieved only by increasing the supply of food available to the households. Efforts must be made to improve the utilization and distribution of that food once it enters the home. The study also revealed that the mother's knowledge of nutrition was inadequate. This was exhibited in the weaning process of children. One of the main problems identified by the study was the introduction of inadequate supplementary and weaning foods. The types of food introduced varied but the ~ommon factor is that most of them were carbohydrates. Commercial weaning foods also appear to be gaining ground as a supplementary food item when traditional weaning foods can provide just as much nutritional value at a fraction of the cost. Cultural beliefs with regard to childhood malnutrition remain strong among Kibera residents. In most cases the symptoms of kwashiorkor and marasmus was not associated with inadequate feeding but was seen as being caused by the transgression of sexual taboos by the parents. The treatment stemmed logically from the perceived causation. These findings clearly point to the need to emphasise adequate supplementation at the ages of 4-6 . months with continued breast-feeding, promotion of low cost locally available weaning foods at the same time discouraging the use of commercial weaning foods as they are extremely expensive. The mother's knowledge of nutrition should also be enhanced in order to ensure sufficient nutrient intake and nutritional adequacy for pre-school children.