Nutritional status of children 0–59 months in selected intervention communities in northern Ghana from the africa RISING project in 2012

Abstract

BackgroundPoor nutritional status during childhood and its long-term impact on economic growth and wellbeing is well known. This study assessed the nutritional status of children in selected communities in northern Ghana, to serve as baseline data for the Africa Research in Sustainable Intensification for the Next Generation (Africa RISING) project that sought to improve farm-household nutrition through agriculture.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted among children 0–59 months in selected communities in the Northern (Tibali and Cheyohi No. 2), Upper West (Goli and Zanko) and Upper East (Bonia and Sambulgu) regions of northern Ghana. A pre-tested, semi-structured questionnaire was used to obtain information on background characteristics of caregivers and children. Weight and height were measured for children following World Health Organization (WHO) procedures and transformed into z-scores using the WHO Anthro.ResultsAll the caregivers (522) were females; majority (73.4 %) had no formal education, 82.7 % were married and 70.5 % engaged in farming. In all, 533 children were recruited: Northern region (38.6 %), Upper West (33.4 %) and Upper East (28.0 %). Majority (52.5 %) of the children were males. The mean age was 32 ± 19 months. Levels of stunting, underweight and wasting were 27.2, 17.6 and 8.2 % respectively. Stunting, underweight and wasting levels increased within the first two years of life. Overall, 33.8 % of the children in northern Ghana were malnourished; 20.2 % were from the Northern region, 7.0 and 6.8 % were from Upper East and Upper West respectively.ConclusionDifferent forms of malnutrition still exist as a public health problem in various communities in northern Ghana and need to be curtailed using effective agriculture-nutrition sensitive interventions.

The effect of maternal and child factors on stunting, wasting and underweight among preschool children in Northern Ghana

“…This implies that, though stunting and underweight are decreasing in the region, household food security does not seem to improve, as reflected in the higher prevalence of wasting found in present study. The lower prevalence of stunting and underweight recorded in this study compared to those reported in the 2014 demographic and health survey has also been documented by recent studies in the Northern region [9,22]. A higher proportion of children in the study sample consumed a diversified diet from at least four food groups.…”

“…As Ghana strives to attain the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by the year 2030, ensuring nutritional well-being is key [8]. Government and non-governmental organizations in response to the high prevalence of stunting among children in the Northern region have initiated some interventions to decrease it [9]. For these interventions to have the most impact on stunting, data on the predictors and the strong determinants of stunting affecting these children is critical.…”

“…The Ghana demographic and health survey (GDHS) reports indicate a decrease in child stunting from 28% in 2008 [2] to 19% in 2014 [7]. Though this is an encouraging reduction nationally, there are wide disparities among the regions [8,9], with most southern regions having lower prevalence and the northern regions with higher prevalence [9]. Stunting in Northern region is the highest in Ghana with a prevalence of 33% among preschool children [7].…”

Relationship between the mothers' nutritional status with that of a child population from São Tomé Principe, "Africa"

“…3,4 On a global scale, malnutrition is associated with one third of the deaths in children under the age of 5. 1 The paradoxical phenomenon of the coexistence in the same family of chronically undernourished children and their overweight/obese mothers has been observed in several studies, suggesting an emerging problem in developing countries. 5 Nutritional status has several implications for the health and the welfare of populations, particularly in periods of rapid growth and development, such as pregnancy and early childhood.…”

“…1,2 In São Tomé and Príncipe (STP), an economically disadvantaged African country, 1 in 15 children dies before the age of 5, and malnutrition may account for more than 50% of these deaths. 3,4 On a global scale, malnutrition is associated with one third of the deaths in children under the age of 5.…”