Nutritional status of emancipated girls (MUKTA KAMLAHRIS) of Nepal

Background: Unmarried girls between the age of five and 14, who work as child caretakers and house maids are referred as Kamlahris, and as indentured servants, they work for 14 to18 hours per day. This bonded child labor system was declared illegal by the government of Nepal in 2000. The government soon realized the need to liberate these girls from their masters in 2005. However, some of these girls are still work as Kamlahris due to extreme poverty. There is no information and research on the nutritional status of these emancipated Kamlahris in Nepal. It is envisaged that the data could serve as baseline for future studies, as well as inform the public health policy. Thus, this study aims to assess the prevalence of malnutrition and anemia among Emancipated Kamlahris.

Method: A cross sectional study was conducted among randomly selected 452 emancipated Kamlahris. Data were collected by direct interviews, observations, focus groups and key informant interviews. Results: The average BMI score was 18.59 kg/m2 with SD 2.15. According to WHO cut off values, 26.3% were in the thinness grade I, 12.8% were in grade II, and 11.1% were in grade III. Likewise, mean hemoglobin level was 10.07 g/dl with SD 0.94. Furthermore, more than two-thirds (66.7%) were mildly anemic, about one-third (29.4%) were moderately anemic.

Conclusion: There is an alarming condition of malnutrition among the emancipated Kamlahris in Nepal, which warrants further study. This group of girls needs special attention to promote their health and well being.