Ethiopia
Unintentional Injuries
References
​“The leading cause of both deaths and DALYs attributable to injuries is road traffic accidents” (Skolnik, 2020d). According to a study conducted in Ethiopia in 2015, the leading cause of unintentional death in children ages 0-14 was road traffic accidents (Li et al., 2018). Road traffic injury unintentional deaths were followed by other injuries such as fire, heat, hot substances, and drowning injuries (Li et al., 2018). The study showed that males were at a 50% greater risk for unintentional injury than females, in this age group and that rural children were at a greater risk compared to children who lived in urban areas (Li et al., 2018).
Unintentional Injuries Health Promotion
Data collection is going to be key in the health promotion of unintentional deaths in Ethiopia (Li et al., 2018). A system such as an injury surveillance system is recommended by Li et al., (2018) because a system like this would help to document injuries when they occur and are reported at clinics and hospitals. By learning and obtaining more information about unintentional injuries appropriate measures can be taken to ensure prevention measures are in place to prevent any further unintentional deaths to children.
Nutritional Impact on Health
“Nutritional status is fundamental to the growth of young children, their proper mental and physical development, and their health as young adults” (Skolnik, 2020e). In Ethiopia malnutrition is a significant problem, especially for young children in rural areas that primarily thrive through agriculture. Nearly one-third of children die within the first 5 years of life due to undernutrition (Asfaw et al., 2015). Undernutrition is determined by a child’s height for age, weight for age, and weight for height (Skolnik, 2020e). In one of Ethiopia’s more agriculturally based regions 796 children ages 6 to 59 months were followed to determine nutritional issues. An astonishing 47.6% of children were stunted, 29.2% were underweight, and 13.4% were wasted (Asfaw et al., 2015). Stunting was found to correlate with diarrhea that occurred within the past 2 weeks, being male, and being feed foods before the newborn has breast milk (Asfaw et al., 2015). Being underweight correlated with diarrhea within the past 2 weeks, having a father that was uneducated, and having a mother that had more than 4 children (Asfaw et al., 2015). Finally, wasting was correlated to having diarrhea within the past 2 weeks, the age that complementary feedings started, and parents that did not use family planning methods (Asfaw et al., 2015).
Asfaw, M., Wondaferash, M., Taha, M., & Dube, L. (2015, January 31). Prevalence of undernutrition and associated factors among children aged between six to fifty nine months in Blue Hora district, South Ethiopia. BMC Public Health. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25636688/
Li, Q., Alonge, O., Lawhorn, C., Ambaw, Y., Kumar, S., Jacobs, T., & Hyder, A. (2018, March 27). Child injuries in Ethiopia: A review of the current situation with projections. PLOS ONE. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0194692
Skolnik, R. (2020d). Injuries. In R. Riegelman (Ed.), Global Health 101 (4th ed., pp. 451-469). Jones and Bartlett Learning.
Skolnik, R. (2020e). Nutrition and Global Health. In R. Riegelman (Ed.), Global Health 101 (4th ed., pp. 219-253). Jones and Bartlett Learning.
​Voice of America News. (2009, October 9). Ethiopia: Struggles to Treat Malnutrition [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Byed9YF8-wg
Nutritional Health Promotion
To help combat the tragedy of malnutrition more access must be made for public health resources (Asfaw et al., 2015). Having access to family planning methods would be vital and greatly decrease the burden that malnutrition has on the community, as malnutrition not only impacts children while they are in their youth but follows them through adulthood (Asfaw et al., 2015). Economic development would also be beneficial in these agriculturally based Ethiopian communities as it would allow for more resources therefore decreasing malnutrition (Asfaw et al. 2015)