NUTRITIONAL STATUS OF UNDER-FIVE CHILDREN AND ASSOCIATED FACTORS
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ABSTRACT
The nutritional status of children under five years is an indicator of nutritional situation in society. Research estimates that risks related to stunting, severe wasting and intrauterine growth retardation are linked to 2.2 million deaths and 21% of disability-adjusted life years worldwide for children under 5 years. Malnutrition in Eastern Nigeria where Ivo Local Government Area is located had high (42%) stunting, (7.3%) wasting and 20% underweight. Considering that Ivo Local Government Area is generally low potential dry zone, this situation could have impacted negatively on nutrition status of vulnerable groups especially children under five years. However, limited data exists to support this.
The nutritional status of one child from each of 144 households were sampled in Ivo Local Government Area was assessed using anthropometric measurements (height/length, weight, MUAC). Data were collected on household demographic and socio-economic characteristics, food production, utilization and food consumption, water and sanitation situation and child characteristics including infant and young child feeding practices (IYCF), immunization and morbidity status using pretested structured questionnaires.
The mean household size was 4.73 ±0.743 and 10% of the households were female headed. The ratio of male to female in the study population was approximately 1: 1.1. The dependency ratio of the population was 1.02. About 90 % of the households in the study population relied on unsafe water supply from unprotected water sources. Only 6.2% and 18.4 % of the households met their energy and protein requirement from the food consumed by the household. Up to 39% of the children were stunted, 7.1% were wasted and 18.1 0% were underweight. These levels were above the national average and high enough to classify the community as chronically foods insecure, according to the FAO/FNSAU integrated food security phase classification of 2006. The prevalence of stunting and wasting was significantly higher in boys than in girls (χ2 =6.765, p =.034) and (χ2= 13.053, p = .036) respectively.
There was significant negative correlation between children’s age and nutritional status based on wasting and underweight (r=-.243, p=0.046 and r=-.296,p=0.007 respectively). Household size was positively and significantly correlated to stunting and wasting (r=.410, p=0.047 and r=.402, p=0.041 respectively). A child who was sick two weeks prior to the survey was more likely to be wasted than a healthy child (Odds Ratio; 1.56, CI: 0.6-5.76).
In conclusion, malnutrition among children under five years in Ivo Local Government Area is indicative of chronic food insecurity situation. Large household size and morbidity experience are important associated factors. Therefore, multisectoral approaches that address different household dynamics including food security, health and nutrition issues at community level should be employed to alleviate malnutrition.
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