THE HEALTH AND NUTRITIONAL-STATUS OF SCHOOLCHILDREN IN AFRICA - EVIDENCE FROM SCHOOL-BASED HEALTH-PROGRAMS IN GHANA AND TANZANIA

Surveys of the health of schoolchildren in Tanga Region, Tanzania and VoIta Region, Ghana are reported. Two age groups of both sexes were st udied: 8-9 and 12-13 years old. Children themselves tend to have a poo r perception of their health status. This is confirmed by biomedical s urveys. Evidence was common of chronic ill-health due to undernutritio n, anaemia, parasitic infections and micronutrient deficiencies. The o lder age groups of both sexes were significantly more stunted (height- for-age z score <2 below National Center for Health Statistics referen ce values) than the younger groups, indicating that linear growth cont inues to falter throughout the school-age years. Anaemia was common: 3 8% of children in Ghana and 75% of children in Tanzania had a haemoglo bin level <120 gn. Younger children were more likely to be anaemic tha n older children, but no significant difference between the sexes was observed. Helminth infections which cause blood loss (Schistosoma haem atobium and hookworms) were common and only 37% of children in Ghana a nd 14% in Tanzania had no evidence of worm infection. In Ghana, 71% of children had a low urinary iodine concentration; in Tanzania 38%. The burden of ill-health suggests that school health programmes in these countries which deliver anthelmintics and micronutrient supplements ha ve the potential to improve the health, growth and educational achieve ments of schoolchildren.