6.5.4  Social factors

Poverty is the reason that some families cannot produce or buy more food. Men often leave home to search for work, leaving women to bring up children alone. Poverty can lead to family quarrels and child abuse. Often women have less access to money, land and other resources, and less control over family decisions than men.

You have now studied the causes of undernutrition and thought about how these might be found in your own community. The next section will give you the opportunity to look at some of the common consequences of malnutrition on a community.