31. Rizkallah, N. Nutritional Status of Primary School Children in a Refugee Camp of the West Bank. Birzeit University Community Health Unit, 1991: 75 pp.

The aim of the study was to assess the nutritional status of Al-Jalazon Refugee camp children and to investigate the factors that affect the nutritional status of these children. The following are the main findings:

- Thirty-two percent of the children suffered from stunting - Eighteen percent suffered from wasting
- The prevalence rate of anemia was 18.8%
- The prevalence rate of anemia was higher among girls than among boys and was not affected by the wealth of families.
- The prevalence of wasting and stunting varied with the wealth of the families. Children of poorer families had a prevalence of wasting of 42.5%
- Fifty-two percent of the stunted children did not consume animal protein on a regular basis. The wealth of the families also affected the type of diet that the children consumed.
- The educational level of the parents affected the nutritional status of their children.
- The prevalence of wasting and stunting was not affected by the frequency of eating at the UNRWA supplementary feeding center in the camp. However, poorer children utilized the center more than rich children.
- There was a significant correlation between the prevalence of wasting and mothers' awareness of the nutritional status of their children. The mothers of 71.2% of the wasted children and of 84.1% of the stunted children were not aware of their children's health status.

The author concludes that children were entering school with a poor nutritional status and that no adequate interventions were applied to improve the nutritional status of children of school age.

The following recommendations are made:

* Development of a regular monitoring system as a part of the school clinic records.
* Development of nutrition education curricula.
* Provision of meals at schools for elementary school children.
* Reintroduction of the UNRWA supplementary feeding program..