Nutritional status and morbidity of children in isolated villages of Kwara State, Nigeria

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Abstract
The purpose of this study was to assess the nutritional status and morbidity of children in medically isolated villages of Kwara State, Nigeria. The height, weight, chest, head and mid‐upper‐arm circumferences of 1,743 rural Kwaran children aged 0.5 to 13 years were measured. The immunization status of these children was determined and they were screened for the prevalence of tropical and childhood infections. The 50th percentiles of age and mid‐upper‐arm circumferences of the children were below the 50th percentile of Harvard standard. The mean of the chest circumference of the female children from Lossa community was statistically larger than the chest circumference of their counterparts from Oloru district (P<0.05). At the Oloru district, 26.6% of the children were vaccinated against the common childhood diseases, whereas at Lossa, only 19.9% of them were vaccinated. Children at Oloru farm settlements with various infections were 24.0%, whereas those at Lossa community with infections were 31.2%. It was concluded that children at the medically isolated villages were not only at risk of protein energy malnutrition but suffered from multiple infections. The need for the introduction of primary health care services to these areas were highlighted.

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