Evidence of Malnutrition and its Associated Factors among Under-five Children in Danko-Wasagu Kebbi State, North-western Nigeria

Malnutrition is a major health problem worldwide and causes about 2.3 million deaths among under-5 children in low- and middle-income countries annually including Nigeria. Therefore, the present study was designed to assess the nutritional status of under-five children (0-59 months) and associated factors in Danko-Wasagu. The socio-demographic characteristics, prevalence of childhood diseases, anthropometric parameters and dietary pattern of the children were evaluated. The results indicated that 54.8% of the caregivers are young adults within 20 to 24 years of age with 41.7% having two living children. In addition, 58% of the caregivers have monthly family income below ₦20,000 with no any formal education. Moreover, Mid Upper Arm Circumference (MUAC) and weight-for-height (WFH) indices indicated that none of the children has severe-acute-malnutrition (SAM). Furthermore, there was 65.5% prevalence of diarrhea, 45.2% with dermatitis and 25.0% with acute respiratory infections. In addition, stunting, underweight and wasting among the children investigated were 72.7%, 29.8% and 11.9% respectively. Similarly, the consumption of cereals food group by the children was 92.7% while 28.6% and 31.0% of the children met the minimum dietary diversity and minimum meal frequency respectively. Conversely, wasting, underweight and stunting among the children were significantly (p