Dietary Diversity Practices and Nutritional Status among Children Age 6-59 Months in Armed Conflict Affected Areas of Amhara Region, Ethiopia

Abstract

Background: Appropriate and adequate feeding practice is a pre-requisite to good nutritional status in any given
time of human life. Globally, around 136 million people needed assistance due to armed conflict, while more than
52 million children suffer from acute malnutrition. Armed conflict triggers food insecurity and affects child nutrition
through disrupting crop production, destroying food stores and livestock, forcing people to eat foods with lower
nutritional value, affecting market food supply and price inflation. This study aimed to determine dietary diversity
practice and nutrition status of children age 6-59 months in the armed conflict affected areas of Amhara region,
Ethiopia.
Methods: Community based Cross sectional study design was employed among children age 6-59 months in armed
conflict affected areas of Amhara region from March 13, 2022-April 13, 2022. A Multi-stage cluster sampling
procedure was used to select households. The total sample size was 2571 children of age 6-59 months. Data was
collected using interviewer administered questionnaire adapted from Food and Nutrition Technical Assistance and
food and agriculture organization. A 24-h recall method was used to assess dietary diversity practices of children.
Anthropometric measurements were done to get height and weight of children. The collected data using Open Data
Kit was extracted from the server to excel version 2016 and were cleaned and coded for further analysis using SPSS
version 25.
Result: About 2582 children were included in the present study. The prevalence of adequate dietary diversity practice
was 7.6 % in the study area. The food groups eaten by most (90.9%) of the children in the past 24 hours were grains,
roots and tubers whereas the least (1.9%) food groups were flesh foods. The study showed that 13.6%, 27.7% and
41.6% children were wasted, underweight and stunted respectively. About 5.3%, 8.9% and 21.1% of them were
severely wasted, underweighted and stunted respectively. About 2.3% of index children had illness in the past two
weeks.
Conclusion and recommendation: the level of adequate dietary diversity practice for children age 6-59 month in the
study area was very low. The level of acute malnutrition, underweight and stunting in the study areas were very high.
This evidence indicates the urgent need of providing emergency nutrition service to manage children with acute
malnutrition. Micronutrient supplements should be given for children in regular pattern.