Malnutrition in Children under Three Years of Age in Ashanti, West Africa

At a time when problems of food supply are prominent in all parts of the world, a clinical account of malnutrition in young children in Ashanti may be of more than local interest. Ashanti lies in West Africa, north of the Gold Coast. Kumasi, the capital, is situated in the tropical forest belt, with roads radiating from it in all directions. A Welfare Centre was opened in-the town fifteen years ago to provide medical care for children and for pregnant women. At this centre there were last year over 50,000 attendances, and cases of under-nutrition and malnutrition were frequently seen. Although the two conditions tend to merge, it is with the latter that this article deals. Background. The people live in small villages of mud-walled houses in forest clearings, and even the