An evaluation of a nutrition program in a remote community in central Australia

The Pintubi Homeland Health Service, the Ngintaka Women's Centre, the community store, the Centre for Remote Health, the Alice Springs Unit of the Menzies School of Health Research and the mothers and carers of children under three were involved in a collaborative program aimed at improving the nutrition of young children in the Northern Territory. This paper briefly outlines the program, focusing on an evaluation of the cost effectiveness and results of the community based initiative. Statistics are presented and discussed on the 75 participating children aged up to three years in terms of the evaluation of growth, malnutrition and diarrhoeal disease. The benefits of this longitudinal study are discussed with conclusions indicating that a nutrition program, initiated and developed through community participation can achieve substantial improvement in the growth and health of these young children.