The immediate causes of maternal and child under nutrition will in turn be affected by the status of the underlying causes – being household food security; basic health services and a healthy environment; and maternal and child care (known for short as food, health and care). For example, dietary inadequacies can be caused by an inadequate supply of food or by mothers having too little time to prepare food or feed their children. Similarly severe under nutrition and child mortality may result from any one or a combination of causes, such as the lack or low utilisation of health services, inadequate food supplies and sanitary facilities, poor food hygiene or inadequate child care.
It is only in a particular context that exact causes can be identified: underlying causes can be numerous and are usually interrelated.
Figure 7 proposes some of the major interventions that could have an impact on the underlying causes.
Figure 7: Conceptual framework of basic, underlying and immediate causes of child under nutrition
Most underlying causes are themselves the result of the unequal distribution of resources in society, where action is required.