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  • Title: Health and nutrition of labourers' families in Papua New Guinea.
    Author: Huntsman AC.
    Journal: P N G Med J; 1984 Jun; 27(2):73-81. PubMed ID: 6598551.
    Abstract:
    The nutritional status of the wives and children of laborers employed by an oil palm plantation in the West New Britain Province of Papua New Guinea was anthropetrically assessed. The purpose of the study was to assess the impact of the introduction of cash cropping on the nutritional status of rural families. The oil palm plantation was a part of a larger oil palm project. The project included 1) the government managed Smallholder Development Scheme, in which small landholdings are leased to and individually farmed by settler farmers and 2) the Nucleus Estate Scheme, in which a large oil palm plantation is operated by private companies under an agreement with the government. The anthropometric study was conducted on a sample of the wives and children of the 474 married laborers employed under the Nucleus Estate Scheme. The sample consisted of 100 wives and 141 children under 5 years of age. In addition, data on household expenditures and dietary patterns were collected in a survey of the households of 30 laborers and compared with a similar survey of households participating in the Smallholders Development Scheme. Anthropometric measurements indicated that the weight for age (W/A) of 17% of the children was less than 80% of W/A Standard. This finding indicated that malnutrition was less prevalent on the estate than in the country as a whole. In 1978, the W/A of 37% of the nation's children was less than 80% of the W/A Standard. In the estate sample, the highest proportion of low W/A children occurred in the 24-47 month age group. Most of the poorly nourished estate children were stunted (an indication of chronic malnutrition) rather than wasted (an indication of short term malnutrition). Among the wives of the laborers, 48% were anemic, about 75% had low reserves of subcutaneous fat, 30% had mid upper arm circumferences (MUCA) less than 85% of the MUAC Standard, and none were below 80% of the weight for height (W/H) Standard. The estate women appeared to have shorter birth intervals than other Papua New Guinea populations. The household survey data indicated that the average annual income of settlers and laborers was similar; however, the laborers had to purchase almost all their food while the settlers grew most of their food. The diet of the laborers was more varied and included more protein than the diet of the settlers, but the consumption pattern of the laborer families was erratic. At the beginning of the fortnight pay period it was much better than toward the end of the pay period when families ran out of money. Some of the estate families handled their money poorly. In most rural communities, women manage the family food allocations. With the introduction of cash cropping, men generally assume control of the family income, including the allocation of money for food. Some of the men used an insufficient portion of their income for food purchases. In summary, the nutritional status of the children of the laborers was better than the nutritional status of children in the general population. The major factors which contributed toward malnourishment in some of the estate families were 1) the misallocation of income, 2) poor dietary habits, and 3) the high occurrence of malaria in the West New Britain Province.
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