BackgroundExclusive breastfeeding is the most widely known and effective intervention for preventing early-childhood deaths. Optimum breastfeeding practices can prevent 1.4 million deaths worldwide among children under five every year. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding and associated factors among mothers who have an infant less than six months old in Debre Markos, Northwest Ethiopia.MethodsA community based cross-sectional study was conducted from April 1 to 30, 2013. A simple random sampling technique was used from a list of all mothers who had an infant less than six months old obtained from the health extension workers (HEWs) registration book in all kebeles (neighbourhoods) of the city. A total of 423 mothers with infants less than six months old were included in this study. Data were collected using questionnaires administered at interview. Both bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were carried out to identify factors associated with exclusive breastfeeding.ResultsThe prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding during the seven days before the survey was 60.8% (95% CI: 55.8%, 65.8%). Those mothers who were unemployed [AOR = 1.98 (1.21, 3.22)], received breastfeeding counseling during antenatal care (ANC) [AOR = 2.44 (1.53, 3.91)], received infant feeding counseling during postnatal care (PNC) [AOR = 5.03 (3.04, 8.31)], didn’t give prelacteal feeding [AOR = 3.44 (1.88, 6.33)] and had adequate knowledge about breastfeeding [AOR = 2.57 (1.57, 4.19)] were more likely to practice EBF than their counterparts.ConclusionsAlthough the prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding was lower in the study area than international recommendations, rates were higher than found in other studies. Recommendations for improving exclusive breastfeeding include better support for working mothers through extending maternal leave and establishing work-site day care centers for infants, expanding the urban health extension program so that more pregnant women and mothers can be taught about appropriate infant and young child feeding practices and how to express their milk, thereby increasing their breastfeeding knowledge.

Background: Economically Ethiopia remains one of the poorest countries in the world and malnutrition is one of the major and most pressing health problems; especially among children. Objective: To assess the nutritional status of preschool children in a rural locality of Northwest Ethiopia Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in a rural locality called Gumbrit. Weight and height of the study children were measured and the socio-demographic characteristics of the subjects were collected using a questionnaire. Results: The overall prevalence of malnutrition in the community was high with 28.5% of the children being underweight, 24% stunted and 17.7% wasted. Among the socioeconomic variables included in the study only family income was significantly associated with malnutrition. Conclusion: The nutritional status of children in rural communities is affected by low family income. To improve nutritional status of children the full implementation of the poverty alleviation programmes should be considered and appropriate measures need to be taken to support needy families with children.

Introduction: It is realistic that Exclusive breast feeding can significantly reduce the burden of under-five death. About 41% of global under five deaths occur in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) mainly due to inadequate breastfeeding practices in combination with high levels of disease. Despite the universal practice of breastfeeding, most women do not practice exclusive breast feeding in many developing countries including Ethiopia. Methods: A community-based cross sectional study was conducted. A total of 819 mothers with 6-12 month aged infants were included in the study. All mothers from randomly selected kebeles were included in the study through cluster sampling technique in Mecha District, Amhara Region in April 2012. Structured interview was conducted in data collection. Both bivariate and multivariate logistic regression techniques were used to analyze the data with 95% CI. Results: The prevalence of exclusive breast feeding (EBF) was 47.13% (95% CI; 43.7%-50.56%). Mothers who reported having 3 and more antenatal visit during pregnancy (AOR=1.7; 95% CI:1.09-2.67) ,who got PNC counseling on infant feeding (AOR=2.27; 95% CI: 1.56-3.30),who initiated breast feeding(BF) immediately after birth with in the first one hour (AOR=2.98;95% CI:2.11-4.22) and who have adequate knowledge on BF(AOR=2.06;95% CI:1.47-2.88) were more likely to exclusively breastfeed than their counterparts. Mothers from urban areas were less likely to exclusive breast fed than rural mothers (AOR=0.38; 95% CI: 0.23-0.62). Conclusions: The prevalence of exclusive breast feeding in the study area was below the WHO recommended level 90%. Residence, three and above ANC visit, NC counseling on infant feeding, immediate initiation of breast feeding (BF) within an hour, maternal knowledge of BF were found to be associated with EBF practice. Strengthening ANC and PNC service, educate pregnant mothers on immediate BF initiation, counseling mothers on infant feeding during PNC, prioritizing urban areas for BF promotion in line with newly launched UHEP and other promotional efforts to improve maternal BF knowledge are recommended.

BackgroundMany people, especially in developing countries such as Ethiopia, are migrating to cities. The majority of these people have settled in slum areas, which often have poor sanitation and housing conditions. Therefore, this study was conducted to gather evidence on nutritional status and associated factors among children aged 6–59 months living in slum areas of Gondar city, northwest Ethiopia.MethodsA community-based cross-sectional study was carried out from 3 to 28 May 2017. A total of 593 children from the slum areas aged 6–59 months were included in the study. Bivariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were carried out to identify the independent determinants of stunting and wasting.ResultsThe overall prevalences of stunting and wasting were 42.3% (95% CI 38.34, 46.3%) and 7.3% (95% CI 5.3, 9.4%), respectively. Poor wealth status (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] =1.79; 95% CI 1.19, 2.70) and age of child 24–35 months (AOR=2.56; 95% CI 1.32, 4.96), 36–47 months (AOR=2.27; 95% CI 1.14, 4.54) and 48–59 months (AOR=2.69; 95% CI 1.35, 5.32) were independently associated with stunting. Similarly, presence of a fever in the previous 2 weeks (AOR=2.29; 95% CI 1.20, 4.38) and paternal control over resources (AOR=3.66; 95% CI 1.12, 11.04) were associated with wasting. Children of uneducated mothers (AOR=3.30; 95% CI 1.29, 8.46) were also more likely to be wasted.ConclusionThis study illustrates that undernutrition is prevalent in the slum areas of Gondar city and is a critical public health problem. Therefore, attention should be targeted at economically disadvantaged children living in slum areas. In addition, there is a need to improve medical awareness of families with young children in these areas and increase the health-seeking behavior of these families, primarily by focusing on maternal education. Increasing women’s decision-making autonomy over household resources is also recommended to address the problem.

BackgroundVoluntary Counseling and Testing (VCT) is the key entry point to prevention, care, treatment and support services, where people learn whether they are infected or not and to understand the implications of their HIV status and make informed choices for the future.MethodsA cross sectional study design was done among 753 students drawn from selected departments in Debre Markos University, Ethiopia, using multi-stage sampling technique. Self-administered questionnaire was used to estimate the prevalence of VCT service utilization and to assess associated factors. Data were entered and analyzed using SPSS version 16.Results711 students were participated in the study, of whom, 521 were males. Majority (93.8%) were within the age range of 15 to 24 years. The mean age was 21.5 (3.2±); most of the respondents (91.6%) were single. Majority (81.4%) heard about the confidential VCT service, and their major sources of information were mass media (73.3%) and health workers (71.1%). The study revealed that 58.5% of the study participants had undergone voluntary counseling and testing. It was shown that VCT service utilization was significantly associated with availability of ART drug in VCT site, heard presence of confidentiality, perceived stigma, risk perception and knowledge about HIV.ConclusionThe major factors identified for increased VCT service utilization were knowledge about availability of ART drug in VCT site, information about confidentiality, absence of perceived stigma, higher risk perception and knowledge about HIV. Therefore, actions targeting on these predictors are necessary to effectively enhance the use of the VCT services utilization.