Stunting in Zambian rural children | Jana Ade

In this episode, Jana Ade describes her journey to Zambia to complete her masters thesis project. Zambia has got significant resources, such as mines, but is still one of the poorest countries in the world.  

Jana spent two months collecting data from different families in rural Zambia on how relationships within the household, breastfeeding behaviour & complementary feeding practice affect the growth of infants up to two years old. Certain areas of Zambia have stunting (reduced growth & cognitive development due to malnutrition) of nearly 50 %, so this is a critical problem that needs to be solved to help the people of Zambia leave the vicious cycle of malnutrition. 

Certain mothers begin introducing food too early to children although they can recognise and understand the importance of breastfeeding on the healthy development of the infant. The WHO & Unicef recommend exclusive breastfeeding up to 6 months old, with the first initiation of breastfeeding by the mother to be carried out within one hour of birth
Certain families in Zambia favour ultraprocessed food, such as cookies (or other sweets) instead of whole food, such as fruits. Ultraprocessed food is often seen a status symbol due to being less available and more expensive. Switching calories from ultraprocessed foods to whole foods, whilst still ensuring that children get sufficient calories, is one of the most evidence based ways to improve health.
The food introduced to babies during weaning and thereafter mostly consists of Nshima. Nshima is the staple food of Zambia. It is a very thick porridge made from finely ground corn. It is very filling but does not promote a balanced diet.

These factors will need to be addressed in future interventions to reduce rates of stunting in Zambian children. 

Jana also describes what is was like to live in Zambia. The people of Zambia left a significant mark on Jana, and she hopes to return their one day in the future.

Couple of extra questions from the listeners which Jana replied to me by message:



1. Is there any support for kids to correct this condition?

Jana: It’s hard to correct the condition since the nutrient deficiency establishes at the early age (1000 days of life). Even if you would feed a baby a proper diverse diet (after the second birthday) with sufficient nutrients the body could never compensate for the deficits already established and make up for the lost development. Therefore it’s crucial to have intervention programs / measurement which approach this time window.



2. Did you see any unorthodox practices with relation to feeding children in Zambia?

Jana: Fortunately I never observed any unethical or unorthodox feeding practices such as force feeding. Only one mother reported to force the baby to feed in case of sickness. This is because the child looses appetite when it’s sick and the possibility that the child could die is too high if it’s not eating.

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