New data explores the correlation between civil conflict and child malnutrition
int...@ccih.org
On January 25 of 2018, the Center for Global Development hosted a forum entitled The Impact of Civil Conflict on Child Malnutrition and Mortality. Hosted by Justin Sandefur, a senior fellow at CGD, presenters included Embry Howell and Timothy Waidmann, both senior fellows from the Urban Institute. Attendees also had the privilege of hearing from Nancy Birdsall, Senior Fellow and President Emeritus at Center for Global Development, and Sebastian Bauhoff, another senior fellow at CGD.
While the presentation was to raise concern for the connection between violence and malnutrition in general, the focus of this particular data was on the effects on the country of Nigeria. Howell and Waidmann started off by sharing some basic facts on Nigeria such as the fact that it is the most conflict prone country in Africa and that the NW and NE regions are the poorest and most prone to violence. They also touched on the different ways that violence can indirectly affect the surrounding areas. Howell and Waidmann then discussed the Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (2013) and the Social Conflict Analysis Database (Richard Strauss Center, 2002-2013). They explained that they had merged the two in order to get an idea of just how much local violence is affecting the mortality and wasting rates of children in Nigeria.
Results showed that outcomes were worse in rural areas and that household economies directly affected mortality rates but not those of wasting. While there were a few limitations in the data, such as not being able to take migration into full consideration, presenters concluded that the association between violent conflict and malnutrition is quite extreme. They closed by discussing the policy implications and what aid measures may be the most effective in alleviating the effects that violence is having on children.
Background information available here:
https://dhsprogram.com/pubs/pdf/fr293/fr293.pdf
https://www.strausscenter.org/scad.html
Submitted by Jamie Wagner, Advocacy and Communications Intern, Pepperdine University Student