 Team Reports |
Children's health in KolkataJill Adams — Peterborough, ON
Having been a nurse in children's hospitals for many years in my youth, I still have a keen interest in the health of infants and young children. Dr Chitralekha Ghosh, wife of Rotarian Dr. Ghosh, was good enough to answer some of my questions during our team's visit to Kolkata. The mortality rate for all babies born in hospitals in India is twenty-six deaths per thousand. These deaths are mainly from pneumonia, premature birth, and diarrhea. There are no statistics to indicate the mortality among the vast majority of babies born outside hospitals. Many of these are simply not recorded. Most mothers do not seek medical help at all during pregnancy. If complications occur, hospitals will accept patients and provide treatment if the mother can get to the hospital. Untrained midwives deliver all of these babies in homes and other places that do not always have access to clean water.
Most babies are breast-fed. Powdered milk can be bought in medical shops and pharmacies but is expensive for poor people. Young children get very little protein in their diets. The most common meal is chapati and rice. Dal, made from lentils, a common vegetable protein, costs 75 rupees ($1.70 CDN) per kilo which is beyond the reach of many. If applied for, vitamins can be obtained from the government for children up to the age of five. Many do not apply. Another common food for children is cooked rice mixed with potatoes, rolled into balls. Fruit such as banana, mangoes, apples and grapes is widely available but, again, such items are often beyond the reach of many. Malnutrition among Indian children does not result from food shortages — India produces a surplus of food. It is poverty, lack of money that keeps the food from the children. Dr Ghosh said that improved education is making parents more aware that large families are not always the best option. The size of family is decreasing gradually.
I hope that every child who received a bedkit this year will, as Murray Dryden hoped, have better night's sleep and a slightly more comfortable life. I also hope that the child's family, having received the contents of the kit, will be able to divert a little more of their resources towards children's food. |
