Nutritional Status of Children Less Than Five Year Old Suffering Anemia and Night Blindness in Khartoum State, Sudan

Abstract

This work investigates nutritional status of children less than five year old suffering anemia and night
blindness in Khartoum State with particular emphasis to three central children hospitals in Khartoum,
Khartoum north and Omdurman. The sample size was 138 children determined by 10% rate of prevalence
of nutritional deficiency diseases among children living in Khartoum State, and distributed proportionally
according to the number of children suffering these two diseases in each hospital. In addition, hemoglobin
and anthropometric measurements were done. Results depict that, physical symptoms of anemia are loss
of appetite (87.7%), paleness (93.5%), exhaust, and eating clay (29%), while for night blindness they were
xerophthalmia (20%); Pinot spots (52%); karatomalacia (12%), and Cornea ulceration (4%). Acute
malnutrition constituted 63% of cases of children suffering anemia and night blindness. Children suffering
anemia and night blindness distributed among different age groups have very low percent of hemoglobin
concentration below 60% standard, confirming for prevalence of Iron deficiency anemia. Malnutrition was
highest among children aged 1-3 year old, and females are less malnourished compared to males. There
was low energy (calories), Iron and Vitamin A levels of intake among these children. Some
recommendations were suggested to reduce anemia and night blindness among children in Khartoum
State.