Nutritional change and economic crisis in an urban Congolese community.

Background: In 1986, the government of Congo undertook a structural adjustment programme to cope with the economic crisis. We present the results of a study whose objectives were to assess the evolution of nutritional status of an urban community between 1986 and 1991 and to identify specific groups for which the nutritional status may have worsened.

Methods: Two cross-sectional surveys were carried out on representative samples of Brazzaville children < 6 years old: 2295 children were surveyed in 1986 and 2373 in 1991.