STATISTICS OF MALNUTRITION IN EARLY CHILDHOOD (with reference to Uganda) BY

Although it is well known that malnutrition is probably the most common cause of admission to hospital in Uganda, for children aged from 1 to 4 years (MUSOKE, 1961), it is not generally appreciated that hospital admissions account for only a very small percentage of the children affected by malnutrition. In order to draw atten-tion to the full extent of the problem an attempt has been made to collate all the available infor-mation to provide an overall picture of the extent of malnutrition in pre-school children in Uganda. Ideally, one would like to know the incidence of malnutrition per thousand children reaching the age of 5 years. In a country such as Uganda where this information is not available from existing medical statistics, prospective 5-year long surveys of statistically selected random samples of the population throughout the country would be needed to provide accurate information on inci-dence. Such surveys would inevitably make heavy demands on resources which are very limited in their availability, viz., trained staff and money. It is for this reason that the data presented here is of a more limited nature, but it is hoped to show that such investigations can give valuable information for use in establishing priorities and needs throughout the country, provided the data is interpreted within the context of its limitations. Review of available information The first nutritional studies in Uganda wer