Socio-Economic Determinants of Nutritional Status of Children in Ethiopia

Abstract

This study aimed to assess the nutritional status and associated factors of children age five years and below in Ethiopia. The study was based on the secondary data obtained from Ethiopia demographic and health survey database, collected in 2011. A total of 9622 of children aged five years and below which contain the necessary information were considered in this study, analysed within a theoretical framework based on a health production function. A multilevel binary logistic regression model with random-intercepts was used for estimating the determinants of child nutritional status. The empirical results revealed that children from households in Tigray, Affar and Amhara regions were less-nourished. Level of education of parents, possession of media infrastructure (TV and radio), assets of household, contraceptive adoption and the condition of sanitation and water were considered to be important determinants of nutritional status of children. The pattern of growth-faltering in children by age was identified. Children aged 13-59 months were less-nourished than those aged 0-12 months. In addition to analyzing nutritional status for the whole sample, we have also separately analyzed for urban and rural households, and found that the determinants differed. Finally, based on the results of the study, the paper proposes several policies aimed at improving the delivery of nutrition to more effectively address the problem of under-nutrition.