Joe Issa Urges Look at Local Innovation to Improve Malnutrition Indicators

As Jamaica tries to close the wide gap between low and high income countries in the prevalence rate of stunted growth and underweight children, particularly among under-five-year-olds, Joe Issa urges a closer look at the UWI initiative.

“Right now malnutrition indicators don’t look good for third world children, particularly those under five years old. Like in Jamaica, developing countries have too many short children relative to their age (stunted growth),” informing that it is as high as 65% compared with a low of 5% for first world countries.

 

“So we need all the help we can get, and if UWI’s programme is appropriate for our children and works, then I think we can look at; perhaps we can visit one of the countries using it and evaluate the reported successes,” says Issa, who a champion for Jamaican innovation.

 

Issa, who founded the Cool Group of companies based in Ocho Rios, St. Ann was commenting on a Gleaner article in which the UWI is lamenting that an early stimulation programme which it developed years ago are being used throughout the world except in Jamaica.

 

The interview comes on the heels of a blog in which Issa lamented the high prevalence rate of stunted growth and underweight among children, especially those under five years old in third world relative to first world countries, pointing out that the gap is too wide and should be narrowed with higher social and economic growth.

 

The blog referenced the World Health Organization (WHO), which stated that stunted growth, which means a low height-for-age “reflects a process of failure to reach linear growth potential as a result of suboptimal health and/or nutritional conditions.”

 

In the contest of the population this is associated with “poor social and economic conditions and increased risk of frequent and early exposure to adverse conditions such as illness and/or inappropriate feeding practices.”

 

The data showed that worldwide variation of the prevalence of low height-for-age is considerable, ranging from 5% to 65% among the less developed countries, stating that the reductions we have seen in the past 24 years are indications of improved social-economic conditions over the period.

 

But Issa says we should also tackle the problem through early stimulation, which has been said to be an effective strategy, as he urges a closer look at the UWI initiative to see if we can use it here.