Peer-reviewed article
Understanding the relationship between WASH and malnutrition: Analysis of anthropometric data of children attending WASH-supported schools in Ogun State, Nigeria.
Hammed Oladeji Mogaji, Oladunni Nimota Adekunle, Olaitan Olamide Omitola, Clement Ameh Yaro, Ayodele Samuel Babalola et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study compared nutritional status of 353 children in schools with and without water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) interventions in Ogun State, Nigeria. Children in WASH-supported schools had lower stunting rates but surprisingly higher wasting rates than those in non-intervention schools. Age was the strongest factor influencing nutritional outcomes, with older children showing worse nutritional status regardless of WASH programme participation.
Key points
- Stunting was 26.2% in WASH intervention schools versus 29.4% in control schools
- Wasting was higher in intervention schools (32.3% vs 8.2%), contrary to expected benefits
- Underweight was lower in intervention schools (3.9% vs 10.1%) though not statistically significant
- Age was the only significant predictor of malnutrition outcomes across all measures
- WASH programming status did not significantly predict nutritional outcomes when controlling for other variables
Limitations
The study uses a cross-sectional design with only six schools and does not control for confounding factors like household income, dietary diversity, or implementation quality of WASH programmes. The unexpected finding of higher wasting in intervention schools raises questions about whether WASH interventions alone are sufficient to address malnutrition without complementary nutrition interventions.
Abstract
BackgroundThere has been a growing interest in better understanding the association between water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) and malnutrition.AimWe analysed anthropometric data of children attending WASH intervention schools and those from non-intervention schools in Ogun State, Nigeria.MethodsA total of 353 children across six schools (three interventions and three non-interventions) participated in this study. WASH conditions were assessed using WHO standardized tools and anthropometric data of children were analysed in WHO AnthroPlus and R Software.ResultsThe prevalence of stunting was 26.2% in the intervention group, and 29.4% in the control group (p = 0.045). Underweight was lower in the intervention group (3.9% vs. 10.1%) (p = 0.45). However, wasting was higher in the intervention group (32.3% vs. 8.2%) (p = 0.001). Of the variables included in our multivariate model (age, gender, and school category, i.e. intervention/control and class grade), only age was selected, and negatively associated with underweight, stunting and wasting (p = 0.000).ConclusionRegardless of WASH programming status, nutritional outcomes were significantly influenced by age of the children. Children are more likely to have lower z-scores as they grow older.
Findings the Hub has extracted
Each claim below is labelled by its type of design and links back to this report.
- Intervention
- Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) infrastructure and programming in schools
- Population
- 353 children aged 5-18 attending six primary schools in Ogun State, Nigeria (three with WASH interventions, three without)
Key finding
Stunting prevalence: 26.2% intervention vs 29.4% control (p=0.045), favouring intervention