Wellington Jogo

Household dietary diversity, vitamin A consumption and food security in rural Tigray, Ethiopia

OBJECTIVE To describe: household dietary diversity across four zones in Ethiopia; the relationship between household dietary diversity and consumption of vitamin A-rich foods; and the relationship between household dietary diversity and food security status. DESIGN This was a cross-sectional survey. Data were collected using structured questionnaires in the local language. Household dietary diversity scores measured types of foods households consumed, and households were classified by food security status using a modified version of the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale. An ordinal logistics regression model was created to assess the relationship between three tiers of dietary diversity (low, medium and high) and food security while controlling for agricultural zone, educational variables and household characteristics. SETTING Rural households in Tigray, Ethiopia. SUBJECTS Three hundred households in Tigray, Ethiopia, were interviewed. RESULTS Of the households, 23, 47 and 30 % had low, medium and high dietary diversity, respectively. Among households with high dietary diversity, eggs and fruit were the most common foods added to the diet. In the fully adjusted model, participants who reported being food secure had 1·8 increased odds of greater dietary diversity (95 % CI 1·0, 3·2) compared with participants who were food insecure. CONCLUSIONS Food security was positively associated with dietary diversity. In order to enhance health, interventions that improve dietary diversity and vitamin A consumption should remain important areas of focus for health leaders in the region.

Prevalence and predictors of stunting and underweight among children under 5 years in Tigray, Ethiopia: Implications for nutrition-sensitive agricultural interventions

ABSTRACT Understanding local drivers of malnutrition can help improve the design of agricultural interventions intended to reduce child stunting and underweight. This study reports the prevalence of child under-5 stunting and underweight from 10 rural districts in the Tigray region of Ethiopia; analyzes factors associated with child undernutrition; and presents implications for designing and selecting indicators for agricultural programs intended to improve nutrition. Overall prevalence of stunting and underweight was 40.0% and 34.6%, respectively. There was significant variation among the districts in the proportion of children classified as stunted and underweight (p > 0.05). Stunting rates ranged from 26.7% to 66.7%, underweight rates ranged from 13.3% to 63.3%. Geographic location (odd ratio [OR] = 1.99; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.81–4.87), no maternal history of eye issues (OR = 1.67; 95% CI, 1.01–2.78), and not owning a mobile phone (OR = 1.5; 95% CI, 0.91–2.49) were factors that increased odds of stunting. Geographic location (OR = 1.17; 95% CI, 0.5–2.76) and no maternal history of eye issues (OR = 1.71; 95% CI, 1.01–2.91) increased odds of underweight. The aggregate data masked influential social and behavioral factors affecting nutrition within certain districts and subgroups. Nutrition-specific approaches that target women and children and nutrition-sensitive approaches that strengthen local sources of resilience are needed to accelerate progress toward improved nutrition and reduce health disparities.