ABSTRACT
Seasonal effects on child growth have rarely been
investigated and very little information exists on the nutritional status of
pastoralist Fulani children (6-59months). Data from such study could serve as a
baseline for future studies, as well as informed public health policy. The aim
of this study was to assess the impact of seasonal migration on dietary pattern
and nutritional balance of pastoralist Fulani children (6-59months) in Kajuru
L.G.A. A semi structured and food frequency questionnaire were used to collect
socio-demographic and dietary information respectively. Height and weight of
581 and 145 children was measured after migration and upon return from
migration respectively. This was analyzed using ENA for SMART to assess levels
of malnutrition. Blood samples were also collected for analyses of some
micronutrients; albumin and haemoglobin concentration were analyzed using
Hemocue Analyzer on the field. The prevalence of stunting, underweight and
wasting during the dry season were 23.4%, 20.3% and 14.5% respectively and
during the Wet season, the prevalence of stunting, underweight and wasting were
recorded at 37.2%, 13.1%and 4.8% respectively. Boys were more severely wasted
(3.0%) than girls (2.5%) while girls showed a higher percentage of severe
underweight (6.8%) compared to boys (3.3%) and for stunting boys showed a
higher percentage (12.5%) than girls at 7.6%.Overall, the age group that had
highest percentage of wasting, stunting and underweight was children between
6-24months.The concentrations of micronutrients were normal in over 50% of
pastoralist Fulani children measured during both seasons;54% and 67% of
children had normal serum albumin levels during dry season and wet seasons
respectively. According to the WHO thresholds, the prevalence of Global Acute
Malnutrition was serious(10-14%)during the dry season only and stunting was the
only under-nutrition indicator of high prevalence during both seasons and this
may be due to some underlying conditions associated with malnutrition such as
poor dietary intake, infant feeding practices among others. Nutrition education,
hygiene promotion and improved access to health care services may help reverse
these trends.
CHAPTER ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background
Information
Malnutrition is perhaps the
most important problem facing the poor people in the World today; in spite of
the progress made in improving nutrient availability in the last decade, a
large proportion of poor households in developing countries still have
inadequate access to sufficient food (Abdulai and Aubert, 2004). Good nutrition
is increasingly perceived as an investment in human capital that yields returns
today as well as in the future, while bad nutrition is a threat to the nation;
good life nutrition raises returns on investment in education and health care
(Ezekwe, 2008). Inadequate consumption of protein and energy as well as
deficiencies in Key micronutrients such as iodine, Vitamin A and Iron are key
factors causing morbidity and mortality of children; malnourished children have
lifetime disabilities and weakened immune systems (Ezekwe,2008).
Pastoralism is a livelihood based on livestock rearing which
is experienced by sedentary or mobile communities; traditional pastoral
production systems of Africa may be classified (in order of increasing
mobility) as agro-pastoralism, sedentary pastoralism,
semi-sedentary-pastoralism (transhumance) and nomadic or migratory pastoralism
(Schwartz, 1993).In general, mobility is used to manage uncertainty and risks
such as feed and water scarcity associated with drought and diseases in arid
and semi-arid ecosystems (Admassu, 2003).
Many traditionally mobile populations continue to depend on
production of various livestock species such as cattle, sheep, goats, camels,
yak, horses and donkeys to provide animal source foods that can be sold for
income or directly consumed (Randolph et al., 2007). Such
livestock-dependent ―pastoralists‖ use mobility to manage uncertainty and risk (Schelling,2005), and generally
move with their herds in response to animal needs, seasonal changes in habitat,
socio-political arrangements for land use and access, and attimes violent
conflict. Mobile pastoralists typically inhabit areas unsuitable for agriculture
and industry, such as high altitude, high latitude (Zinsstaget al.,
2006) and/or arid and semi-arid ecosystems, which are often far from major
centres of high population density and infrastructural investment (Munch, 2007;
Weibel, 2008). Migratory movements represent a complex response to a mix of
abiotic, biotic and human social factors, including conflict (Dyson-Hudson and
Smith 1978, Gray et al., 2003).
The Nigerian pastoralists are
made up of various ethnic groups but the largest group of pastoralists is the
Fulbe or Fulani that constitute about 95 per cent of the nomadic herders in
Nigeria bearing at least thirteen names in West Africa, and found in more than
twenty countries, the Fulani make up the continent's most diffuse
ethno-cultural group (Islam, 2001). The population of Fulani nomads in Nigeria
are high; based on the report of nomadic education extension services in 2002,
Iliyasu (2012) estimated their number to be six million.
The Fulaniare mostly
semi-settled, moving to locations where seasonal water supplies make
pastureavailable during the dry season. However, some Fulani are nomadic and
are constantly on themove in search of water and pasture. They keep large herds
and depend on milk and dairyproducts for sustenance.The Fulani are the most
vulnerable to diseases and natural hazards; their mobility exposes them to
common colds and allergies associated with dust, weeds, and animals due to
unprotected bodies exposed to bites or stings from bees, snakes, scorpions,
mosquitoes, house flies, and tsetse flies and also the Fulani's drink water
that is polluted with dirt and decomposing matter (Iro, 2004).
The Fulani indisputably
represent a significant component of the Nigerian economy. They constitute the
major breeders of cattle, the main source of meat, the most available and cheap source of animal proteins consumed by Nigerians (Eniola,
2007).The Fulani own over 90% of the nation‘s livestock population which
accounts for one-third of agricultural GDP and 3.2% of the nation‘s GDP
(Eniola, 2007). Furthermore, the contribution of the Fulani to the local food
chain and national food security cannot be overstressed. The Fulani, with their
dominance in the Sahel region, are the best known and most numerous of all the
pastoral groups in Nigeria. The traditional and unique Fulani encampment (ruga)
consisting of temporary structures made of stalks, closely knit family members
and livestock is the natural habitat of the orthodox Fulbe settlement (Eniola,
2007).
Bruijin and Dijk (1995) and
Noriet al., (2005) have assessed the sources of vulnerability in Fulbe
pastoral system. It is shown that both the sources they control (animals) and
do not control (land, water, market, politics) have direct and significant
impacts on their livelihoods.
Globally, access to land,
credit and property rights has a further impact on child survival prospects.
Marginalized groups living in informal settlements, illegal dwellings or urban
slums are vulnerable to health threats. These factors also create barriers to
demand, impeding the initial and continued use of services by the most
disadvantaged. When combined with low rates of immunization, this situation
exacerbates the transmission of diseases (UNICEF, 2015).
1.2 Statement
of Research Problem
Populations that abandon
livestock-keeping for life in towns or farms often suffer worse nutritional
hardships, particularly the loss of protein from milk and meat, resulting in
worse malnutrition, especially for children (Hilderbrand, 1985; Nathan et al.,1996).High
morbidity and mortality levels among
nomadic and semi-nomadic pastoral populations raise some of the world‘s most
problematic issues in terms of public health (Zinsstag et al., 2004).
Some argue that nomads have better
health status than their sedentarized agricultural counterparts while others
point out differences due to social or geographical isolation (Foggin et al.,
1997). For instance, some studies have shown that some nomadic communities are
less affected by intestinal parasites or demonstrate a lower
susceptibility to waterborne diseases such as cholera and hepatitis (Nathan et
al., 1996). In contrast, other inquiries have indicated the propensity of
pastoralist populations to suffer from specific kinds of morbidity as well as
from higher rates of infant/child mortality than those of settled
agriculturalists; these trends are usually attributed to differences between
nomadic pastoralists and crop farmers, of nutritional status, maternal diet,
child care practices (Chabasse et al., 1983; Brainard, 1986).
These trends are usually
attributed to differences, between nomadic pastoralists and crop farmers, of
nutritional status, maternal diet, child care practices (Chabasse et al.,1983).
The dual perspective about risks to the health status of nomads mentioned above
can be explained to a large degree by the effects of geographic
mobility(Loutan, 1989).On the one hand, it has been observed that regular
pastoral migrations, population dispersion and low human density may protect
nomadic populations from epidemics while they may also introduce some diseases
to non-contaminated areas (Loutan, 1989). On the other hand, however, one of
the side effects attributed to spatial dispersion which is widely recognized as
deleterious is the consequence of geographic barriers to the effective use of
the health care system (Hampshire, 2002).
Studies to determine the
predominant diseases and nutritional status among nomads are rare or dated and,
therefore, the health status of nomadic pastoralists in the Northern Guinea
Savannah is not well known (Swift et al., 1990). Yet, such information
is crucial for the definition of research and action priorities and appropriate
health policies for nomadic people to reduce health inequalities. Furthermore,
the heterogeneity of nomad populations makes it necessary to identify the
groups or sub-groups who carry the highest burden of specific diseases prior to
designing a strategy to deliver efficacious health care (Tanner et al.,
1993).
Seasonal morbidity patterns of semi-nomadic Fulani differ
considerably from those of settled ones (Hill, 1985). Loutan (1989) and Swift et
al., (1990) summarised five main factors affecting the morbidity patterns
in nomadic pastoralists: (i) proximity to animals, (ii) a diet rich in milk,
(iii) mobility and dispersion with resulting difficulties in getting and
maintaining treatment, (iv) the special environment (hot, dry and dusty), and
(v) socioeconomic and cultural factors including the presence or absence of
traditional healers.
1.3 Justification
Anthropometric indicators are
useful, as they provide a simple and practical way of describing the problem in
the community; they are possibly the best general proxy for constraints, such
as dietary inadequacies, infections and other environmental risks, on the well
-being of the poorest (Shetty, 2002). Anthropometric indicators are strong and
easily obtainable predictors at the individual and population level of
subsequent morbidity, functional impairment and mortality, i.e. the
consequences of poverty and hunger; they are reliable indicators for measuring
the success or failure of interventions at the micro level and for measuring
the impact of macro level changes(Shetty, 2002). Pastoral societies often
represent complex but poorly analysed systems, tending to be denigrated by
policy-makers (Nori, 2007). Prevalence of
anaemia and deficiencies of iron, zinc, vitamin A, riboflavin and other
micronutrients are unknown for most pastoralist populations; we also lack data
on birth weights and gestation length with which to assess fetal nutrition
(Pike, 2000).
Mobility often improves human
health as part of a suite of pastoralist adaptations that are continually
responding to new opportunities and challenges (Fratkin et al., 2004;
Schelling et al., 2005; Ekpo et al., 2008; McCabe,
1994;Nathan et al., 1996;Fratkin et al., 1999), but it also
imposes constraints on the determinants of human health and well-being
(Hampshire, 2002; Mocellin and Foggin, 2008; Pike et al., 2010), such as
challenges to effective public health surveillance and intervention (Bonfoh et
al., 2007; Tanner and Zinsstag 2009; Weibel 2008; Wyss, et al.,
2003; Zinsstag, 2009). Concerns raised about human health and well-being among
mobile pastoralists include an apparently high prevalence of micronutrient
malnutrition, or ―hidden hunger‖ as it is termed in advocacy and policy
development, and the issue of how to better measure and address it however, the
specific ways in which pastoralist mobility improves or undermines micronutrient
consumption remain poorly investigated (Sellen, 2010).
In Nigeria, the contribution of
the Fulani to the local food chain cannot be over emphasised. More than 80% of
Nigerians depend on the pastoral Fulani for meat, milk, cheese, hair, honey,
butter, manure, incense, animal blood, hides and skins. (Iro, 2004). Thousands
of Nigerians wholly or partly make a living from selling, milking, butchering,
or transporting herds and the government earns revenue from cattle trade (Iro,
2004). The Fulani, therefore, play an important role in the economy and
nutrition of Nigeria;therefore an assessment of pastoralist children‘s
(6-59months) nutritional status would help in the identification of nutritional
deficiencies and risks of disease and such information may be utilized towards
the provision of nutritional support and nutrition.
Kaduna State lies within the
sub-humid agro-ecological zone of north central Nigeria; this zone has an
annual rainfall ranging from 600 to 1000 mm. The area is suitable for the
production of crops such as sorghum, yam and maize. The state also provides a
dry season sanctuary for cattle because of its relatively high rainfall, which
supports the growth of pasture. The cattle population of the state is estimated
at 1.007 million head; more than 90% of these are owned and managed by
traditional, semi-settled pastoralists (RIM 1992).
1.4 Aim
The general aim of this study is to assess the impact of
seasonal migration on the dietary pattern and nutritional balance of
pastoralist Fulani Children (6-59months) in KajuruLocal Government Area
of Kaduna State.
1.5 Specific
Objectives
The specific objectives
were to determine the:
i.
nutritional status of the
pastoralist Fulani Children (6-59months)
ii.
feeding pattern of the Pastoralist
Fulani households
iii.
status of albumin, haemoglobin and
some micronutrients (Iron, zinc) concentration of Pastoralist Fulani Children
(6-59months).
iv.
influence of seasonal migration on
the nutritional status, feeding pattern, micronutrient status, albumin and
haemoglobin concentration of the Pastoralist Fulani Children (6-59months).
1.6 Null
Hypothesis
There
is no significant effect of seasonal migration on dietary pattern and
nutritional balance of pastoralist Fulani children (6-59months) in Kajuru LGA,
Kaduna State.
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