Child Health Care Issues in Ethiopia

Inadequate health care services and malnutrition in Ethiopia have adverse lifetime effects on children, according to Hanna Ingber Win, the world editor of the Huffington Post. One result is poor school performance that negatively impacts the children's future.

Causes

• In one of the poorest countries in the world, one in eight Ethiopian children die before age 5, as reported on the Save the Children website. Sadly, the children die from diseases such as pneumonia, diarrhea and malaria, easily preventable with good nutrition and clean water as well as treatable with low-cost medicines.

Effects

• Poverty in Ethiopia prevents parents from adequately caring for their children. Famine from droughts, unsanitary housing and lack of clean water all contribute to high rates of respiratory and intestinal diseases in children. As stated on the Health and Health Care in Ethiopia website, more than 40 percent of young children are underweight and have various degrees of growth problems.

Prevention/Solution

• Although signs of improvement give hope, Ingber Win states much more work, as well as financing, is necessary to bring about real change for Ethiopia's children. The Ethiopian government recently pledged resources to address the major concerns affecting child mortality and development. By expanding crop production and providing better health care for all citizens, the government intends to produce a beneficial effect on children, according to Health and Health Care in Ethiopia.