Oman attacks women and child nutritional deficiency through awareness

Oman’s Ministry of Health last week organized its fifth annual symposium in the national plan for woman and child care dealing with food and nutrition.

A report by the Omani news agency quoted Dr. Ahmed bin Abdul Qadir al Ghassani, Health Undersecretary for Health Affairs at the Ministry as saying about the Ministry of Health's intensive efforts in improving nutritional awareness “beginning with pregnant women who were given iron tablets and paying attention to the problem of Malnutrition amongst children under five, saying that national surveys and studies in 1999, shown that the average of less weight among children under five had decreased in the Sultanate from 23.3% to 18%.”

He added “that malnutrition resulting from the lack of protein and energy was the main cause of less weight. He noted that the iron deficiency was an international problem and that 33% of school children and 40% of pregnant woman suffer from such a problem in the Sultanate.”

He emphasized “that the Ministry of Health was capable of eliminating malnutrition by focusing on mothers awareness and encouraging them to follow the right methods in breast-feeding their infants,” the report said.