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Helping the Children Stay Alive!Awake!—1988 | September 22
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Helping the Children Stay Alive!
By Awake! correspondent in Nigeria
POLLUTED water, limited food supplies, widespread disease and infection—these conditions are common in developing lands. However, Dr. Chizu Okudo, a Nigerian pediatrician, told Awake!: ‘Ignorance and neglect [of proper hygiene] on the part of parents help to create conditions favorable to diseases.’
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Helping the Children Stay Alive!Awake!—1988 | September 22
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The book Africa in Crisis adds: “The high probability that children will not live encourages African parents to have large families.” In some African countries, nearly a fifth of all babies die in their first year! Ironically, though, having many children often creates a vicious circle of crowded, unsanitary quarters and inadequate sanitation—the very conditions that play a large part in killing children.
Doctors further say that a woman needs time to recover from pregnancy and childbirth before conceiving again. Otherwise, her ability to have healthy babies can be seriously impaired.
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Helping the Children Stay Alive!Awake!—1988 | September 22
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As women take on secular jobs, however, breast-feeding declines in many developing countries. Consequently, many African babies are fed powdered formulas. Such formulas are nutritious when correctly prepared under sanitary conditions. “In poor areas of the world, however,” reported Time magazine, “that is sometimes impossible. Mothers may unknowingly mix powdered formula with contaminated water or, to save money, dilute it too much.” The results can be deadly.
Queen, a Nigerian mother of seven, recalls that hospital nurses introduced her babies to bottle-feeding right from the start. Queen continued the procedure at home. However, her six children all suffered from serious and repeated diarrhea—one almost died. Her husband says: “We realized that our sixth child was being infected through the feeding bottle, so we stopped using it, and she recovered. Now Queen is breast-feeding our seventh child during its first few months.”
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Helping the Children Stay Alive!Awake!—1988 | September 22
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Important too is how food is handled and stored. It may seem tempting to use spoilable food that has been left standing unrefrigerated for a couple of days, but DO NOT USE IT! “Contaminated food is frequently unsafe and may lead to repeated attacks of diarrhoea and other infectious diseases.” Therefore, (1) wash your hands before touching or preparing foods. (2) Eat food immediately after it is cooked—don’t let it stand for long at room temperature. (3) Keep your kitchen, your cooking utensils, your clothes, and yourself clean and tidy at all times.—World Health magazine.
Germs and parasites abound in polluted water. So filter or boil water before using it. Rinse eating utensils with boiling water, and wash your hands before handling food.
Indeed, perhaps the simplest health safeguard is to maintain a high standard of cleanliness. In developing lands, though, this can be a real challenge.
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