Title: Child health | WHO | Regional Office for Africa
Headings: 
Factsheet: Child maltreatment
Key Facts
Factsheet: Pneumonia
Key facts
Factsheet: Children -- reducing mortality
Key facts
Factsheet: Infant and young child feeding
Key facts
Factsheet: Diarrhoeal disease
Key facts

Content: Extreme stress can impair the development of the nervous and immune systems. Consequently, as adults, maltreated children are at increased risk for behavioural, physical and mental health problems such as: perpetrating or being a victim of violence
depression
smoking
obesity
high-risk sexual behaviours
unintended pregnancy
alcohol and drug misuse. Via these behavioural and mental health consequences, maltreatment can contribute to heart disease, cancer, suicide and sexually transmitted infections. Beyond the health and social consequences of child maltreatment, there is an economic impact, including costs of hospitalization, mental health treatment, child welfare, and longer-term health costs. Risk factors
A number of risk factors for child maltreatment have been identified. These risk factors are not present in all social and cultural contexts, but provide an overview when attempting to understand the causes of child maltreatment. Child
It is important to emphasize that children are the victims and are never to blame for maltreatment. A number of characteristics of an individual child may increase the likelihood of being maltreated: being either under four years old or an adolescent
being unwanted, or failing to fulfil the expectations of parents
having special needs, crying persistently or having abnormal physical features.