Prevalence and factors associated with malnutrition among children aged 6-59 months in Badbaado camp in Mogadishu Somalia

Abstract

Background: Since 1990 in Southern Central Somalia, Approximately 1.3 million people are internally displaced (IDP) due to war and famine. The government of Somalia established Badbaado camp in July 2011with the aim of locating the newly arrived drought/famine-afflicted IDPs. Little information is known about the levels of malnutrition among children aged 6-59 months in Badbaado IDP camp. This study aimed at determining the prevalence and factors associated with malnutrition among children aged 6-59 months in Badbaado IDP camp in Mogadishu, Somalia. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was undertaken among internally displaced people in Badbaado camp, Mogadishu Somalia. Sample size of 406 respondents was determined using the Kish (1965) method. All the five sections of Badbaado IDP camp were sampled to obtain a representative sample for the study. Probability proportion to size sampling was used to select the number of households from each section/unit. Systematic random sampling was used to select the household with at least a child aged 6-59 months. Pre-tested structured questionnaires were used to collect the Socio-demographic, health and dietary characteristic data of the children and their care-takers Anthropometric measurements of 397 children aged 6-59 months were undertaken. The data was captured using Epi Data version 3.0 and analyzed STATA 12. The anthropometric measurements were analyzed using ENA for SMART. The Z- scores of height-for-age (H/A) and weight-for-height (W/H) indices were used to identify children who were wasted, stunted and underweight. Results: The prevalence of stunting, wasting and under-weight was 66%, 41.6% and 59.9% respectively, Children whose caretakers were employed by public institutions were more likely to be stunted and underweight compared with the children whose caretaker were self-employed (OR 1.59 95% CI (1.01-2.51) and OR1.60 95% CI 1.04-2.46 respectively). Female children were less likely to be stunted compared to male children (OR 0.59 95% CI 0.37–0.87). Children who started complementary feeding after six months were more likely to be stunted than children who started at six months (OR 1.7 95% CI 1.07-2.70). Children who did not suffer from diarrhea in the last two weeks before this study was conducted were less likely to be wasted compared to the children who suffered from diarrhea (OR 0.60 95% Cl 0.38-0.92). Children who experienced malaria two weeks before the study was conducted were risk of stunting. Conclusion and recommendation: There was high prevalence of malnutrition (wasting, stunting and under-weight) among children in the internally displaced people’s camps in Badbaado Mogadishu Somalia. Children who suffered from diarrhea in the two weeks before the study was conducted, were more at risk of being wasted. Male children were higher at risk of being stunted compared to girls. Children who started complementary feeding after six months and suffered fever were more at risk of becoming stunted. The stakeholders (local government and relief organizations) involved in the provision of care and support to the IDPs in the camps should provide a more balanced food ration to mothers, encourage backyard farming to improve the supply of fruits and vegetables in the camp and continuous provision of nutrition to the mothers. Key messages regarding infant- feeding should be promoted such as; timely complementary feeding and ways of identifying safer and affordable household water treatment and storage systems/ methods to reduce the number of diarrhea cases. There is also need to provide mosquito nets to as an effort to control malaria infection.