According to World Health Organization (WHO), youth are young people within 15-24 years old. Studies reported that more than half of all new HIV infections occur among people between the ages of 15 and 24 years. Institution based quantitative cross-sectional study was conducted among high school students in Gondar city. Multistage sampling technique was employed to recruit study participants. Data were collected using pretested structured self-administered questionnaire. Data were entered in Epi Info version 7 and analyzed using SPSS version 21. Descriptive statistics were computed to describe important variables in relation to the outcome variable, Binary and multivariable logistic regressions were used to identify independent predictors of the outcome variable. The overall prevalence of risky sexual behavior was 12.8%. Two out of five sexually active respondents ever had unprotected sexual intercourse.  Ever used alcohol ((AOR, 3.53 95% CI (1.73-7.19)), had no parental monitor (AOR, 12.21 95% CI (6.55-22.78), ever watched pornographic film (AOR, 2.24 95% CI (1.15-4.35), had no parental discussion on sexual and reproductive health issues (AOR, 2.57 95% CI (1.36-4.85) and peer pressure (AOR,2.50, 95%CI (1.20-5.21), were factors which significantly increases the odds of risky sexual behavior among youth. Risky sexual behavior among high school students in Gondar city administration was very high and worrisome; so that collaborated effort is needed from parents, schools, health facilities and health policy makers to bring healthy sexual behavior among school youth.

Background Consuming diversified food during the adolescent period is essential to build a healthy and active mind for their later life. Food prices increased in the local market due to fewer production of crops. Thus, exploring the dietary diversity of adolescents in this area is crucial to estimate diet quality. So the aim of the study was to identify determinant factors of dietary diversity. Methods An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted among adolescent students in Woldia town. A total of four hundred eleven students were included in the study. A simple random sampling technique was used to select the participants. The outcome variable was dietary diversity; it was calculated by summing of the number of food group consumed by individuals in the given reference period. Bivariable and multivariable logistic analysis was done. The odds ratio with a 95% confidence interval was computed to measure an association. A variable with a P-value less than 0.05 is considered a significant factor. Results The proportion of inadequate dietary diversity was 49.1% (95% CI 44.5–53.8). Being female (AOR =5.53, 95% CI 3.447–8.859), secondary and above mothers’ education level (AOR=0. 27, 95%CI 0.153–0.477), living in a family size five and above (AOR= 2.09, 95CI% 1.31–3.34), and poor knowledge about nutrition (AOR=4.56, 95% CI 2.727–7.639) were significantly associated with inadequate dietary diversity. Conclusions and recommendations Inadequate dietary diversity was associated with sex, knowledge of nutrition, maternal education level, and family size. It is better to design a nutrition intervention program that focus on nutrition education to scale up diversified food consumption among adolescents.

Background: Wasting is characterized by low weight for height and it is common in developing countries. Wasted children have lower resistance to infection, impaired learning ability and reduce economic productivity. Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence and associated factors of acute malnutrition among children aged 6-59 months in Adiharush and Hitsats Eritrean refugee camps. Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted from March 1 to April 15/2017, at Adi-Harush and Hitsats Refugee Camps. A total of 471 subjects were selected using the multi-stage sampling technique and Pre-tested and structured questionnaire was used to collect data. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was fitted to identify factors associated with acute malnutrition. Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) with the corresponding 95% Confidence Interval (CI) was used to show the strength of associations and variables with p-values of <0.05 were considered as statistically significant. Results: The finding of this study revealed that 37%, 21.6% and 11% of children were stunted, underweight and wasted respectively. Child age 48-57 months (AOR= 0.12, 95%CI: 0.03-0.39), frequency of feeding less than 3 times a day (AOR= 1.95, 95%CI: 1.001-3.8) and not exclusive breast feeding (AOR= 2.51, 95%CI: 1.17-5.40) were significantly associated with wasting. Conclusion: The prevalence of wasting (11%) in the study area is very high. Frequency of feeding, exclusive breast-feeding and child age were significantly associated with wasting. Improve community health education for pregnant and lactating mothers and giving exclusive breast feeding for the children's are one of the prevention mechanisms for child wasting.

Introduction iodine deficiency remains a foremost public health problem in developing countries. About 66 million populations were at risk from iodine deficiency, 28 million people suffer from goiter and more than 50,000 prenatal deaths are related to iodine deficiency each year in Ethiopia. Besides, studies from different parts of Ethiopia have shown that a low proportion of households use adequate iodine concentration and varied from one household to another. Despite increased coverage, the quality of available salt is poor. To ensure safe and effective levels of iodine consumption, monitoring the levels of iodine in salt and the iodine status of the population is critical. However, kinds of literature are scant in Ethiopia particularly; no study is conducted in the current study area. Thus, the study aimed to determine the iodine content of salt and associated factors at the household level in Bahir Dar Town, Northwest Ethiopia. Methods a community based cross-sectional study design was carried out in Bahir Dar Town from September to October 2015. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select 706 study participants. A pre-tested, structured questionnaire and laboratory were used to collect data. A laboratory test, gold standard iodometric titration method was used to measure individual availability of adequately iodized salt. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was fitted to identify factors associated with the content of iodine. Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) with corresponding 95% confidence interval was computed to show the strength of association. In multivariable analysis, a p-value of <0.05 was used to declare statistical significance. Results a total, of 690 participants were included in the study. About 70.1% (95%CI: 63.41, 76.76) of the households were used adequate iodized salt (≥15 ppm). The result of the multivariate analysis revealed that respondents with secondary school (AOR=3.05; 95%CI: 1.51,6.18), age 30-44 years (AOR=1.99; 95%CI: 1.08,3.69), good knowledge (AOR=3.34; 95% CI: 2.09,5.32) and being in the highest wealth status (AOR=4.35,95% CI: 2.43,7.8) had higher odds of availability of adequately iodized salt at the household compared to the counterpart. Besides, using covered salt (AOR=6.10, 95% CI: 3.78, 9.87) and storing salt in a dry place (AOR=4.17; 95% CI: 2.21, 7.86) were positively associated with the availability of adequately iodized salt. Conclusion the availability of adequately iodized salt in the household is still low. Further institutionalizing iodized salt regulation and awareness creation will require to improve safe iodine consumption through the community.

Background: Low birth weight is a challenging public health problem, which has wide range of both short-and long-term consequences particularly in developing countries. Although several studies have been conducted in different countries including Ethiopia, most of the studies did not consider the food security status, environmental-related and maternal dietary diversity-related factors. Therefore, this study aimed to identify contextual determinant factors of low birth weight. Method: A facility-based unmatched case-control study design was employed among 84 cases and 168 controls in selected public health facilities of the Silte Zone. Cases were newborns with birth weight less than 2500gm and controls were newborns with birth weight greater than 2500gm. The data were collected using a semi-structured, pretested interviewer-administered questionnaire. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was carried out to identify independent determinants of low birth weight with a p-value <0.05. Results: The mean birth weight was 2154.94gm ± 233.43 gm SD for cases and 3022.92gm ± 311.88 gm for controls. Mothers who did not receive iron and folate supplementation during pregnancy (