Page 218 - Health, Population and Environment Education 10

diseases instead of the medical doctors. So, they die untimely even due to minor diseases
and lack of proper treatment of diseases.

c. Malnutrition
Malnutrition is the condition in which the body
either lacks sufficient amount of nutrients or contains
maximum amount of nutrients than required for
the body. In the developing country like Nepal,
malnutrition is mostly resulted when the body
lacks sufficient amount of nutrients. When there is
lack of nutrients in the diet that we take, it becomes
difficult for the body to fulfill its requirements. As
a result, people suffer from malnutrition resulting Fig: 19
from different deficiency diseases like kwasiorkor, marasmus, goitre, night blindness, etc.
Most of the children below five years are the victims of malnutrition in Nepal. Due to
the geographical topography, poverty, illiteracy, social tradition, culture, lack of health
services, prevalence of infectious diseases, lack of knowledge of balanced and nutritious
diet, many Nepalese are affected by malnutrition. According to the record of 2014 AD,
42% of the children below 5 years suffer from malnutrition in Nepal.

d. High Infant Mortality Rate
High infant mortality rate is another health problem of Nepal. The death of children below
one year of age is known as infant mortality. Due to lack of knowledge about proper pre-
natan and post-natal care, early marriage, lack of child health care and health services, the
infant mortality rate is high in Nepal.
When the infant mortality rate is high, the fertility rate also increases. It is because the
couples lack life guarantee of their children. As a result, they reproduce many children.
According to the Central Bureau of Statistics of 2011 AD, the infant death rate of the
country was 46/1000 live birth. The following table shows the infant mortality rate of the
SAARC countries in different years.

Infant Mortality Rate of the SAARC Countries (per 1000)
Countries 1994 2006 2016
Bangladesh 116 65 38
Bhutan 130 40 44
India 79 58 40
Maldives 38 15 8
Nepal 90 64 33
Srilanka 19 11 8
Pakistan NA 78 67
Afghanistan NA NA 68
Sources: World Population Data Sheet 2014, 2016
218 GREEN Health, Population and Environment Education Book-10