IMPACT OF MALNUTRITION ON CHILDREN IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA: A CRITICAL LITERATURE REVIEW

Abstract

The incidence of child undernutrition is significantly high in many countries and is associated with increased occurrence of child morbidity and mortality. This health problem is more prevalent in developing countries especially those found in the Sub-Saharan region. The current study adopted a critical literature review as the research methodology, reviewing eight articles that met specific measures of inclusion as sources of data. The analysis of findings was conducted via thematic and descriptive analysis methods. The findings showed that malnutrition in the region was associated with undernutrition, poor dietary choices, and inadequate care during hospitalisation. Child undernutrition was a risk factor for prolonged hospitalisation, development of multiple health complications, and abnormal physical and cognitive growth. The implications of this study are that it informs about the adverse effects of child undernutrition and practices by healthcare providers that contribute to the advancement of malnutrition-related complications. This study also creates awareness of the significance of conducting malnutrition diagnosis tests on hospitalised children. The current study recommends the inclusion of effective interventions of child undernutrition in future research.