Tackling child malnutrition in Jamaica, 1962–2020
Abstract On the eve of independence in 1962, malnutrition was the largest single cause of death in Jamaica for children under one. Although child malnutrition rates have rapidly declined since 1962, today Jamaica experiences a double burden of malnutrition: the coexistence of pockets of high child m...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Springer Nature
2020-07-01
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| Series: | Humanities & Social Sciences Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-020-00536-5 |
| _version_ | 1818695959626907648 |
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| author | Henrice Altink |
| author_facet | Henrice Altink |
| author_sort | Henrice Altink |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract On the eve of independence in 1962, malnutrition was the largest single cause of death in Jamaica for children under one. Although child malnutrition rates have rapidly declined since 1962, today Jamaica experiences a double burden of malnutrition: the coexistence of pockets of high child malnutrition with rising levels of childhood obesity. Based on a wide range of sources, including public documents, newspaper reports, scientific studies and reports by international agencies, this article examines a gradual decline in child malnutrition and the rise of the double burden of malnutrition in Jamaica from independence to the present. It will first of all show that changes in the global economy and overseas loans and aid both aided and limited the ability of the Jamaican government to lower child malnutrition levels and also contributed to a rise in childhood obesity. Second, it will illustrate that a traditional deficit-led approach to child malnutrition was followed in post-independent Jamaica, focussing on the public and individuals as targets for intervention and using quantitative measures to trace progress. And third, it will question whether the double burden of child malnutrition will give rise to ‘healthy publics’—‘dynamic collectives of people, ideas and environments that can enable health and well-being’. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-17T13:53:46Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-03c2a165381e4a8884aea21392865de9 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2662-9992 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-17T13:53:46Z |
| publishDate | 2020-07-01 |
| publisher | Springer Nature |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Humanities & Social Sciences Communications |
| spelling | doaj.art-03c2a165381e4a8884aea21392865de92022-12-21T21:45:58ZengSpringer NatureHumanities & Social Sciences Communications2662-99922020-07-017111410.1057/s41599-020-00536-5Tackling child malnutrition in Jamaica, 1962–2020Henrice Altink0University of YorkAbstract On the eve of independence in 1962, malnutrition was the largest single cause of death in Jamaica for children under one. Although child malnutrition rates have rapidly declined since 1962, today Jamaica experiences a double burden of malnutrition: the coexistence of pockets of high child malnutrition with rising levels of childhood obesity. Based on a wide range of sources, including public documents, newspaper reports, scientific studies and reports by international agencies, this article examines a gradual decline in child malnutrition and the rise of the double burden of malnutrition in Jamaica from independence to the present. It will first of all show that changes in the global economy and overseas loans and aid both aided and limited the ability of the Jamaican government to lower child malnutrition levels and also contributed to a rise in childhood obesity. Second, it will illustrate that a traditional deficit-led approach to child malnutrition was followed in post-independent Jamaica, focussing on the public and individuals as targets for intervention and using quantitative measures to trace progress. And third, it will question whether the double burden of child malnutrition will give rise to ‘healthy publics’—‘dynamic collectives of people, ideas and environments that can enable health and well-being’.https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-020-00536-5 |
| spellingShingle | Henrice Altink Tackling child malnutrition in Jamaica, 1962–2020 Humanities & Social Sciences Communications |
| title | Tackling child malnutrition in Jamaica, 1962–2020 |
| title_full | Tackling child malnutrition in Jamaica, 1962–2020 |
| title_fullStr | Tackling child malnutrition in Jamaica, 1962–2020 |
| title_full_unstemmed | Tackling child malnutrition in Jamaica, 1962–2020 |
| title_short | Tackling child malnutrition in Jamaica, 1962–2020 |
| title_sort | tackling child malnutrition in jamaica 1962 2020 |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-020-00536-5 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT henricealtink tacklingchildmalnutritioninjamaica19622020 |