Minister of public health, André Mama Fouda yesterday opened the 13th Congress of Cameroonian society of Pediatrics (SOCAPED) in collaboration with participants of the 13th Congress of the Union of societies and national African paediatric associations (UNAPSA) at the Yaounde Conference Palace.

Presence were the Minister of Communication Issa Tchiroma Bakary, representatives of WHO, the International Association of Pediatrics, almost 400 pediatricians and other health care professionals from several African countries: Senegal, Mali, Togo, Burkina Faso, Madagascar, Nigeria.

This congress which will end tomorrow, Saturday, is under the theme: "African Child Nutrition: what is the assessment at the dawn of the third millennium. "As explained by Pr. Pierre Tchokoteu, president of the SOCADEP, hunger and malnutrition remain despite technological advances, the major challenge of the time.

In developing countries, a child of less than five or three, or about 171 million toddlers experience growth retardation due to a chronic undernourishment. Cameroon is not spared. In some regions of the country, one in two children is malnourished with prevalence in the eastern and far North regions.

The consequences of malnutrition are extreme weight loss which can lead to death. "The child is exposed to a lot of diseases, as compared to a child that is well fed. If a child already has kwashiorkor and catches pneumonia, it will kill him.

It's also the case with other infections," explained the president of SOCADEP. He also informed that undernourishment causes growth retardation, poor school performance and a low resistance to disease. Over-consumption, also causes an increased risk of chronic diseases.

After Ouagadougou in 2012 at the 12th, the foundations of Yaoundé allow pediatricians to take stock of the situation, to develop strategic plans to combat malnutrition in Africa.

"The purpose of this meeting is that we can pass the information on how to conduct a healthy and balanced diet on our children. It comes to see how to use local products we have to ensure proper nutrition for our children", explained Pr. Tchokoteu.