An analysis of socio-demographic patterns in child malnutrition trends using Ghana demographic and health survey data in the period 1993-2008

Background: A small but growing body of research indicates that progress in reducing child malnutrition is substantially uneven from place to place, even down to the district level within countries. Yet child malnutrition prevalence and trend estimates available for public health planning are mostly available only at the level of global regions and/or at country […]

“Poverty is the big thing”: Exploring financial, transportation, and opportunity costs associated with fistula management and repair in Nigeria and Uganda

Background: Women living with obstetric fistula often live in poverty and in remote areas far from hospitals offering surgical repair. These women and their families face a range of costs while accessing fistula repair, some of which include: management of their condition, lost productivity and time, and transport to facilities. This study explores, through women’s, […]

Measuring progress and projecting attainment on the basis of past trends of the health-related Sustainable Development Goals in 188 countries: An analysis from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2016

Background: The UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are grounded in the global ambition of “leaving no one behind”. Understanding today’s gains and gaps for the health-related SDGs is essential for decision makers as they aim to improve the health of populations. As part of the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2016 […]

Determinants of anemia severity levels among children aged 6–59 months in Ethiopia: Multilevel Bayesian statistical approach

Anemia is a widespread public health problem that affects all stages of life particularly preschool children and pregnant mothers. Anemia among children had significant impact on their growth, development, school performance and mortality. Different strategies like deworming of young children, vitamin A supplementation for children aged 6–59 months, and ferrous sulphate supplementation and provision of insecticide […]

Individual-, household-, and community-level factors associated with eight or more antenatal care contacts in Nigeria: Evidence from Demographic and Health Survey

Introduction Antenatal care (ANC) is a vital mechanism for women to obtain close attention during pregnancy and prevent death-related issues. Moreover, it improves the involvement of women in the continuum of health care and to survive high-risk pregnancies. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of and identify the associated factors of eight or […]

Characterising infant and young child feeding practices and the consumption of poultry products in rural Tanzania: A mixed methods approach

Suboptimal breastfeeding practices, early initiation of complementary feeding, and monotonous cereal-based diets have been implicated as contributors to continuing high rates of child undernutrition in sub-Saharan Africa. Nutrition-sensitive interventions, including agricultural programs that increase access to nutrient-rich vegetables, legumes, and animal-source foods, have the potential to achieve sustainable improvements in children’s diets. In the quest […]

Minimum acceptable diet and associated factors among infants and young children aged 6-23 months in Amhara region, Central Ethiopia: Community-based cross-sectional study

Objective The main objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of a minimum acceptable diet (MAD) and associated factors. Design Community-based cross-sectional study Setting Debre Berhan Town, Ethiopia. Participants An aggregate of 531 infants and young children mother/caregiver pairs participated in this study. A one-stage cluster sampling method was used to select study […]

Tracking progress in anthropometric failure among under-five children in Ethiopia: a geospatial and multilevel analysis

Background: Undernutrition is a major public health concern among under-five children in many developing countries. This work evaluated the overall prevalence of under-nutrition by using a composite index of anthropometric failure (CIAF), which helps in the detection of children with multiple anthropometric failures. This research also includes the Spatio-temporal distribution of childhood anthropometric failures across […]

Behavior change interventions delivered through interpersonal communication, agricultural activities, community mobilization, and mass media increase complementary feeding practices and reduce child stunting in Ethiopia

Background: Appropriate infant and young child feeding practices are critical for optimal child growth and development, but in Ethiopia, complementary feeding (CF) practices are very poor. Alive & Thrive (A&T) provided intensive behavior change interventions through 4 platforms: interpersonal communication (IPC), nutrition-sensitive agricultural activities (AG), community mobilization (CM), and mass media (MM). Objectives: The aim […]

Effects of early feeding on growth velocity and overweight/obesity in a cohort of HIV unexposed South African infants and children

Background: South Africa has the highest prevalence of overweight/obesity in Sub-Saharan Africa. Assessing the effect of modifiable factors such as early infant feeding on growth velocity and overweight/obesity is therefore important. This paper aimed to assess the effect of infant feeding in the transitional period (12 weeks) on 12-24 week growth velocity amongst HIV unexposed […]