The world has faced a public health emergency due to the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic. A cross-sectional study with mixed methods was conducted to review the status of maternal and child health care and nutrition service delivery during the early months of the pandemic in woredas (districts) targeted by the Growth through Nutrition Activity, a multi-sectoral nutrition project, in Ethiopia. Comparison to the previous year showed some decline in key maternal and child health and nutrition services, with more pronounced effects during the early months of March and April before coordinated effort and standard guidance were well established. A recovery of most services was likely due in no small part to a range of mitigation interventions implemented by respective health workers and institutions, supervising government organizations, and through support from non-governmental organizations.

Social and behaviour change communication (SBCC) interventions can positivelyaffect optimal nutritional practices. This study evaluated the added value of a virtual facilitator tool to an enhanced community conversation (ECC) programme to improve infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practice among children under the Growth through Nutrition Activity programme in Ethiopia. The study used a quasi-experimental design with a control group. Pregnant and/or lactating women were the study population for both study groups. The intervention (ECC + VF) group received all the same components as the control group but had the addition of in-person ECC meetings supplemented with audio-recorded virtual facilitators (VF) sessions designed to complement the monthly meeting lesson or topic. A difference in difference analysis was employed using generalized linear mixed model (GLMM) in Stata version 15.0 (Stata Corporation, College Station, TX). A p-value of less than or equal to 0.05 was considered significant for all tests. Accordingly, a 13.6% change in iron folic acid (IFA) intake for 3 months and above was observed in the intervention group. Even though not statistically significant, large to moderate positive changes in child minimum diet diversity (20%), minimum acceptable diet (18%) and women diet diversity (7.9%) were observed in the intervention group. This study identified the use of virtual facilitators as a modality to transmit standard nutrition messages during ECC programmes for optimal IYCF practices. The findings strengthen the notion that using a combination of SBCC approaches has advantage over a single method in improving important nutritional practices.

Purpose: To assess the correlates of sedentary time among children and adolescents in Ethiopia. Methods: The study was conducted in representative samples of children and adolescents in the capital city of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to determine associations of sedentary time and predictor variables. Results: The mean sedentary time was 4.61 (95% confidence interval [CI], 4.35–4.86) hours per day. Overall, the prevalence of high sedentary time (>3 h/d) was 68.2% (95% CI, 64.2–72.2). Results of multivariable logistic regression analyses showed a statistically significant association between high sedentary time and female household head (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 0.50; 95% CI, 0.32–0.80), literate mothers (AOR = 1.98; 95% CI, 1.26–3.11), child attending public school (AOR = 1.79; 95% CI, 1.12–2.85), children who belonged to the poor and rich household wealth tertiles compared with medium wealth tertile (AOR = 2.30; 95% CI, 1.42–3.72 and AOR = 2.04; 95% CI, 1.14–3.65, respectively), and those families that did not have adequate indoor play space for children (AOR = 0.45; 95% CI, 0.29–0.72). Conclusion: The study found that time spent sedentary was high in the study area as compared with other studies of similar settings. Several modifiable factors were identified that can be targeted in interventions to reduce sedentary time in the study setting.