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Uganda Loses $899m to Malnutrition
[THE EAST AFRICAN] 6 April 2013 – Uganda loses up to $899 million due to malnutrition every year, according to a Cost of Hunger in Africa (COHA) report. The report also reveals that over 975,000 children under the age of five are experiencing cases of anaemia, acute diarrhoea syndrome (ADH), acute respiratory infection (ARI) and in some cases fever due to poor nutrition.
April 15, 2013 - Last update: February 10, 2023
[THE EAST AFRICAN] 6 April 2013 – Uganda loses up to $899 million due to malnutrition every year, according to a Cost of Hunger in Africa (COHA) report. The COHA report also reveals that over 975,000 children under the age of five are experiencing cases of anaemia, acute diarrhoea syndrome (ADH), acute respiratory infection (ARI) and in some cases fever due to poor nutrition. The reports adds that malnutrition in children under five is one of the top 10 causes of morbidity and mortality after malaria, respiratory tract infections and diarrheal diseases in the country.
“For every additional case of child illness, both the health systems and families are faced with an additional economic cost to the country,” says the report. The study was conducted in four countries: Uganda, Egypt, Ethiopia and Swaziland and the findings show that underweight children are more likely to die from nutrition related illnesses and in Uganda, about 110,220 children have died in the last five years due to malnutrition.
