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One
of the recommendations of the national survey in children 6
- 71 months of age in 1995 commissioned by the Department of
Health and conducted by the South African Vitamin A Consultative
Group (SAVACG) was that due consideration should be given to
initiating a programme of food fortification with a view to
addressing micronutrient deficiencies in the country. The Directorate:
Nutrition of the Department of Health, following extensive consultations
with local and overseas experts, issued a Tender for a survey
on the food consumption patterns in children aged 1 9 years
with special emphasis on children living in areas of low socio-economic
status. The nine Universities teaching Nutrition/Dietetics in
the country, having formed a Consortium, the National Food Consumption
Survey (NFCS) were awarded the Tender. Following further discussions
between the Directorate: Nutrition of the Department of Health
and the University Consortium, the initial specifications of
the Tender were expanded to include the evaluation of the anthropometric
status of these children as well as their nutrient intake. This
report summarises the key findings of the national survey.
In
the report itself, the socio-demographic findings and the findings
on the anthropometric status are presented first, in order to
impart sufficient background for the main findings. A separate
chapter is devoted to each of the components of the survey.
Each chapter consists of its text with some Figures on selected
key findings for ease of reading. More information regarding
the data and findings of the survey appears in the Tables at
the end of each chapter. Additional information in the form
of box-plots is also provided, as appropriate, in the Appendices.
In view of the close interrelationship of the survey components,
a separate chapter has been created (Chapter 9) in which all
the findings are discussed in a summary form and in the order
the components of the survey appear in the report. All recommendations
have been included in this chapter and in the Executive Summary.
The latter, apart from the recommendations also includes selected
key findings of the survey. The Appendices include the Questionnaires
that were developed specifically for and used in the survey,
the Training Manual and other selected information deemed to
be of interest to the reader.
The
NFCS attached great urgency in compiling this report with a
view to making the main results of the study available as soon
as possible. For this reason, the statistical analysis of the
data has been limited to the most important aspects of the survey.
Further detailed analysis of the data is currently being completed
by some participants in the survey as part of their postgraduate
studies. The results of this further analysis, however, are
unlikely to have a major influence on the proposed recommendations.
The directors of the NFCS have agreed that the results of the
survey will also be published in peer reviewed scientific journals.
In
deciding on the proposed recommendations, the feasibility and
efficacy of implementing internationally recommended plans of
action within the country's framework of health care services
and the available expertise have, as far as possible, been borne
in mind. However, a detailed discussion, for example, of the
mechanisms for rural economic development, an essential ingredient
of sustainable elimination of undernutrition, falls well outside
the scope and objectives of this survey. Nevertheless, in general
terms, the proposed recommendations have been made, using both
the findings from the present survey and some plausible solutions
suggested in other policy documents.
The
Directorate: Nutrition of the Department of Health is the major
sponsor for this survey. The Micronutrient Initiative, UNICEF
and MOST (USAID) have also made a very substantial financial
contribution. This survey would not have been possible without
the excellent community support it received, or without the
commitment, dedication and hard work of the directors, coordinators,
team leaders and fieldworkers of the survey, and the personnel
of the Directorate: Nutrition of the Department of Health. The
University Consortium consisted of (in alphabetical order) the
Universities of Cape Town, Free State, MEDUNSA, Natal, North,
Potchefstroom, Pretoria, Stellenbosch (Chair and legal entity
for the Tender) and Western Cape. Other role players are duly
acknowledged in the appropriate chapter.
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