Who Cares about Chandorn’s Health?

Chandorn is severely underweight, suffering from wasting and stunting. He is 40 months old, and only 8.50 kg and 83 centimetres tall. He is the youngest child in his family.

His mother, age 43, says that Chandorn was born at 2.9 kg while she had high blood pressure. She understands that Chandorn is smaller and shorter than he should be, but doesn’t understand why. 

“I take care of him very carefully and I feed them well,” she says, who is illiterate.

Her breathe smells of alcohol. When asked if she drinks she answers, “I drink a little.” 

“She drank alcohol when she was pregnant, that is a reason Chandorn is small,” says Chandorn’s father.

She also has an illness, which she believes is a disease caused by sorcery. Instead of seeing a doctor at the health centre, she has used traditional medicine. She shows dried chopping wood and grass in a plastic bag and says, “This is my medicine that my husband prepared for me.”

She says she has no money to visit the health centre.

When asked how many children she has, she does not answer immediately. She pauses, then counts her fingers and names each of her children one by one, “I have seven total [including one who died due to an unknown cause).”

The family of eight family tries to depend the father’s income as a fisherman and construction worker, but some of the children search for recyclable items to sell for money. 

Inside the house without doors, there are two beds with mosquito nets hanging above. There are no expensive items in the house, indicating the family’s poverty.

The nutritional status of children in Cambodia has not changed much in the past five years. Currently 40 per cent of children are stunted and 11 per cent are wasted, compared with 43 and 8 per cent in 2005. In general, children with uneducated mothers and those living in the poorest households are most likely to be malnourished, according to 2010 Cambodia Demographic Health Survey. 

The Village Health Support Group (VHSG) has the responsibility to report disease outbreaks to the health centre in a timely manner. Parents assist the health centre in collecting vital registration statistics including notification of pregnancies, births and deaths, according to the community participatory policy for health drafted since 2008. 

Because of the VHSG, Chandorn’s case should receive intervention immediately as they are the first witnesses to his case.