Childhood illnesses and malnutrition in under five children in drought affected desert area of western Rajasthan, India.

The study was undertaken to asses the impact of drought on childhood illnesses and nutrition in under five children of rural population using three stage sampling design. The study has been carried out in 24 villages belonging to 6 tehsils of Jodhpur district which was a drought affected desert district of Western Rajasthan in 2003. A total of 914 under five children (0-5 years) could be examined for their childhood illnesses, malnutrition, dietary intake and clinical signs of nutritional deficiency. Childhood illnesses observed at the time of drought were respiratory (7.5 %), gastroentrological (7.5%), and 5.6% fever (viral, malaria and jaundice), higher in males than females. Children suffered from recent and long term malnutrition were 39% and 26% respectively as per National Centre for Health Statistics (NCHS) standards. The extent of malnutrition was significantly higher in females than in males (p<0.01). Vitamin A & B complex deficiencies were 0.7% and 3/% respectively. The protein energy malnutrition (PEM) was observed in 44.4%. Overall mean calorie and protein intake deficit was observed to be very high (76.0 & 54.0 %). The comparison of present drought results with earlier studies in normal and drought conditions showed higher prevalence of PEM and deficiencies of calories & proteins in their diet. Respiratory, gastroentrological and fever were main childhood illnesses observed and were higher in males at the time of drought. PEM, vitamin A & B- complex deficiencies, anemia along with deficit in calories and proteins in their diet was observed higher in present study as compared to non desert areas, which may be due to the harsh environmental conditions in desert areas and paucity in the consumption of daily food intake. Due to inadequate consumption of daily food, the children were suffering from PEM resulting in several childhood illnesses. Effective measures making availability of adequate calories and proteins to all age groups especially to under five children through the ongoing nutrition programs needs to be ensured.