Chapter 3 

 HEALTH, NUTRITION, AND POPULATION 



INTRODUCTION 



Among the most fundamental of all human needs are 

 those relating to personal health and nutrition, which 

 are embodied as universal rights in Article 25 of the 

 United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. 

 Poor health saps vitality and the ability to live a 

 fulfilling life. Improving health is basic to 

 improving the quality of life in developing countries, 

 and this is an important goal of U.S. foreign policy. 



Despite increases in life expectancy since World 

 War II, the developing countries continue to have high 

 mortality rates, largely associated with preventable 

 and treatable diseases. Typically these mortality 

 rates reflect high infant mortality, which in turn is 

 related to high fertility. 



Infant mortality rates in developing countries are 

 still three to 10 times higher than those in developed 

 nations. Although many infectious diseases have been 

 eradicated through mass campaigns, it is estimated that 

 two-thirds of the children in developing countries are 

 still malnourished to some extent, and half of the 

 deaths among children under age five are due to 

 respiratory and diarrheal diseases superimposed on 

 varying degrees of malnutrition, to which they are 

 synergistically related. As many as 0.5 to 1 billion 

 people, mostly in developing countries, do not receive 

 enough daily calories and/or protein. 



As long ago as 19 53, a report by UNICEF and the 

 World Health Organization (WHO) noted that "probably 

 three-fourths of the world's population drinks unsafe 

 water, disposes of human excreta recklessly, prepares 

 milk and food dangerously, are constantly exposed to 

 insect and rodent enemies and live in unfit dwellings. " 

 Unfortunately, despite some progress, such descriptions 

 are still applicable today. 



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