Ch 13-14 ~ Handouts/In-Class Notes

Question 1

What are some built-in handicaps that poor countries have?

Answer 1

● Poor climate - hot/humid
● Few resources - depend on only one type of crop/mineral
● Overpopulated

Question 2

Why do some developing countries blame the wealthy countries for their issues?

Answer 2

● Developing countries blame the developed countries for not sharing their wealth
● Many developing countries were once colonies, and they were stripped of their resources.
● The rich buy the poor’s limited resources and make huge profits
● Foreign aid does not reach the poor, but is shared by the government and a small elite group.

Question 3

What can developed countries do to help the developing countries?

Answer 3

● Send aid through agencies that will give it to the poor directly
● Help increase food production
● Establish a fund to help the poor in times of need
● Eliminate tariffs and other trade barriers for developing nations
● Help them develop suitable technology

Question 4

What can developing countries do to help themselves?

Answer 4

● Stress food production
● Reform education
● Limit population growth
● Encourage outside business interests
● Ignore glamour projects
● Encourage foreign investment

Question 5

What are MDGs?

Answer 5

● Millennium Development Goals

● All member states of the UN adopted eight MDGs targeting the world’s main development challenges.

Question 6

List the MDGs

Answer 6

1. Eliminate extreme poverty and hunger
2. Achieve universal primary education
3. Promote gender equality and empower women
4. Reduce child mortality
5. Improve maternal health
6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases
7. Ensure environmental sustainability
8. Develop a global partnership for development

Question 7

When is a child’s risk of dying in its highest? Why? What are the main causes of child deaths?

Answer 7

● A child’s risk of dying is highest in the first month of life, when safe childbirth and effective neonatal care are essential.
● Preterm birth, birth asphyxia, and infections cause most newborn deaths.
● For children between 1 month old to 5 years old, the main causes of death are pneumonia, diarrhea, malaria, measles, and HIV.
● Malnutrition contributes to more than half of all child deaths.

Question 8

How are health risks to newborns minimized?

Answer 8

● Quality care during pregnancy
● Safe delivery by a skilled birth attendant
● Strong neonatal care: immediate attention to breathing and warmth, hygienic cord and skin care, and exclusive breastfeeding

Question 9

What is pneumonia? How can it be prevented/treated?

Answer 9

● The largest single cause of death in children under five years of age.
● 75% of cases occur in just 15 countries.
● It can be prevented by addressing the major risk factors: malnutrition and indoor air pollution.
● Antibiotics and oxygen are vital treatment tools

Question 10

How can diarrhea be prevented/treated?

Answer 10

● Exclusive breastfeeding helps prevent diarrhea among young children
● ORS (oral rehydration salts) and zinc replacements is safe, cost-effective, and saves lives

Question 11

How can malaria be prevented/treated?

Answer 11

● Insecticide-treated nets prevent transmission and increase child survival
● Early treatment with anti-malarial medication saves lives

Question 12

How can HIV/AIDS be prevented? How many children die as a result of HIV/AIDS?

Answer 12

● Over 90% of children with HIV are infected through mother-to-child transmission.
- Can be prevented by use of antiretrovirals, safer delivery, & safer feeding practices
● More than half of all HIV-infected children die before their second birthday
● Antiretroviral therapy for HIV-infected children greatly improves survival rates and quality of life.

Question 13

What does malnourishment lead to? How can the issue of malnourishment be combatted?

Answer 13

● Malnourished children are more vulnerable to illness and early death.
● About 75% of children can be treated with “ready-to-use therapeutic foods.”
- Energy rich and highly fortified foods that provide ample nutrients for malnourished children aged over 6 months to be treated at home
- Does not require refrigeration, and can be used even where hygiene conditions are not ideal.

Question 14

Where do most child deaths occur?

Answer 14

● Africa and South-East Asia

- Within these countries, child mortality is higher in rural areas, and among poorer, less educated families.

Question 15

In general, what are some ways that can prevent a majority of child deaths?

Answer 15

● 66% of child deaths are preventable through access to:
- Practical low cost interventions
- Effective primary care up to 5 years of age
● Stronger health systems are crucial for improving access to care and prevention.

Question 16

What is the key to achieving the MDG #4 (reduce the U5MR by two thirds by 2015)?

Answer 16

● Greater investment
● Public and private partners must come together to fill the gap, estimated at around $50 billion US.
● Some important milestones include:
- The launch of the International Health Partnership
- The Global Campaign for the Health MDGs
- Several large bilateral donor pledges

Question 17

How does growth monitoring help to reduce child deaths?

Answer 17

● Helps mothers pevent most child malnutrition before it begins
● Mothers would be given a 10 cent growth chart & basic advice on weaning, allowing most of them to maintain their child’s healthy growth, even with their limited resources.

Question 18

How does oral rehydration help to reduce child deaths?

Answer 18

● Could help to save the lives of more than 4 million children who now die each year from diarrheal dehydration.
● Oral rehydration treatment, having children drink a solution of salts, sugar and water administered by the mother, provides a cheap and simple way to rehydrate a child
● Previously, the only effective treatment for dehydration was the intravenous feeding of a saline solution
- This was too expensive and inaccessible for most who needed it.

Question 19

How does breast feeding help to reduce child deaths?

Answer 19

● Ensures that infants have the best possible food and a considerable degree of immunity from common infections during the first 6 months of life.
● For infants, breast-milk is more nutritious, more hygienic, and provides a degree of immunity from infection.
● For mothers, breastfeeding is economical, but it also makes heavy demands on energy, time, and freedom of movement.

Question 20

To what extent would immunization help to reduce child deaths in developing countries?

Answer 20

● Protects children against measles, diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, tuberculosis, and polio
- At present, these diseases kill an estimated 5 million young children a year, leave 5 million more disabled, and are a major cause of child malnutrition.

Question 21

How is female education related to child deaths?

Answer 21

Even within low-income communities, a child born to a mother with no education has been shown to be twice as likely to die in infancy as a child born to a mother with even four years of schooling.

Question 22

How is family spacing related to child deaths?

Answer 22

Infant and child deaths have been found to be, on average, twice as high when the interval between births is less than two years.

Question 23

How do food supplements for pregnant women reduce child deaths?

Answer 23

A handful of extra food each day for at-risk pregnant women has been shown to reduce the risk of low birth-weight. Low birth-weight is a risk which carries with it a two or three times greater likelihood of death in infancy.