Peer-reviewed article
Evolution of the nutritional status and factors associated with undernutrition in children under five of age between 2014 and 2017 in 24 health districts of Burkina Faso.
Picbougoum TB, Somda MAS, Traoré IT, Lohmann J, De Allegri M et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examined trends in undernutrition among children under five in Burkina Faso between 2014 and 2017, using data from 24 health districts. Severe stunting and severe underweight both decreased significantly during this period, likely due to nutrition and health initiatives. However, poverty, household size, and child sex remained strongly associated with undernutrition, and the study notes that emerging security challenges could threaten future progress.
Key points
- Severe stunting decreased from 24.8% to 7.9% between 2014 and 2017 (p < 0.001)
- Severe underweight decreased from 19.6% to 8.9% between 2014 and 2017 (p < 0.001)
- Children in the poorest households were 31% more likely to be stunted (AdjOR = 1.31)
- Households with three or more children under five had 28% higher odds of stunting (AdjOR = 1.28)
- The study identified insecurity as an emerging threat to sustaining progress in child nutrition
Limitations
This study uses secondary analysis of survey data and cannot establish causation for the observed improvements. The study does not evaluate a specific intervention, only monitors trends and associated factors over time.
Abstract
The prevalences of undernutrition in children under five years of age appeared to decrease over the last decade in Burkina Faso. However, the country is now facing new health and security challenges that could threaten this progress. Therefore, it is essential to monitor the evolution of the situation within this specific context. We aimed to assess trends in undernutrition among children under 5 years of age, as well as the factors associated with it, between 2014 and 2017 in Burkina Faso. A study based on secondary analysis of the data from 2013 and 2017 surveys, conducted in 24 districts across six health regions, was carried out. We worked with the household databases to select two sub-samples: 9,259 children from 2014 and 12,119 children from 2017. We assessed anthropometric indicators using World Health Organization standards, analyzed their proportions between 2017 and 2014, and according to the health regions and children's age groups. We examined the association of stunting and underweight with children, mothers, and households' characteristics in 2017 and for two selected health regions, using logistic regression. From 2014 to 2017, the proportion of severe stunting and severe underweight decreased respectively from 24.8% to 7.9% (p < 0.001) and from 19.6% to 8.8% (p < 0.001) certainly due to nutrition and health initiatives. As in 2014, stunting was associated with sex, living in poorest household with AdjOR = 1.31 (95%CI: 1.14 -1.50), or in household having three and more children under five years with AdjOR = 1.28 (95%CI: 1.12 -1.47). This study demonstrated a period of significant progress in undernutrition in children. But it identified the persistence of associated factors contributing to the high prevalence of undernutrition in Burkina Faso, where insecurity has become a prevailing issue. Further studies are needed to assess the sustainability of encouraging progress in children's nutritional status.