Background. Malnutrition is the major public health problem over the world. Developing countries are highly affected. Asian and Sub-Saharan African countries, including Ethiopia, contribute the highest of all. The main aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of undernutrition and its associated factors among children below five years of age.Methods. Community-based cross-sectional survey was conducted on 342 study participants. Simple random sampling technique was used to select sampling kebeles and study units. Weight and height were measured using calibrated instruments. The data were entered into EpiData version 3.1 software and calculated using SPSS version 20.0 statistical software and/or World Health Organization Anthro software with aid of Stat/Transfer.Results. Overall prevalence of undernutrition was 35.5%, of which 85 (24.9%), 38 (11.1%), and 49 (14.3%) were stunting, wasting, and underweight, respectively. Male children were more affected in both severe and moderate nutritional problems compared to female children. The finding showed that 27 (7.9%) had severe stunting, 15 (4.4%) had severe wasting, and 11 (3.2%) had severe underweight, respectively.Conclusion. Undernutrition was high in Bure town among children below five years of age. Male sex, maternal educational status, low household income, preterm babies, absence of antenatal follow-up, diarrhea, and respiratory infections within one-month duration were factors affecting undernutrition.

BackgroundGlobally Less than one fourth of children aged 6–23 months get the recommended minimum dietary diversity feeding practice. Despite this issue is common in Ethiopia, fragmented and inconsistent findings were found. Therefore the main objective of this meta-analysis was to estimate the pooled prevalence of dietary diversity feeding practice and to identify its associated factors among children aged 6–23 months in Ethiopia.MethodsThe Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guideline was followed. Articles were systematically searched through PubMed, Google scholar, Google, Hinari and Cochrane library. Newcastle-Ottawa Scale adapted for cross-sectional studies quality assessment tool was used to assess the quality of each study. A total of 14 studies were extracted and analyzed using STATA 14. Random effect model was used to estimate the pooled prevalence; whereas subgroup analysis and meta-regression was performed to identify the probable source of heterogeneity. Both egger’s and begg’s test were used to check publication bias. Furthermore, the effect between associated factor variables, and dietary diversity feeding practices were examined.ResultsA total of 154 studies were retrieved and 14 studies were included in meta-analysis. The Meta analysis result showed that the pooled prevalence of dietary feeding practice among children age 6–23 months in Ethiopia was 23.25% with considerable heterogeneity (I2 = 98.8, p = 0.00). In the subgroup analysis, the lowest prevalence was observed in Amhara region (12.58%). Home delivery OR: 0.63, antenatal care follow up OR: 1.80, postnatal care visit OR: 2.61, mothers decision making status OR: 1.65, mothers media exposure status OR: 2.79 and being urban residence OR: 2.18 (1.26, 3.77) were significant factors for minimum dietary diversity feeding practice in Ethiopia.ConclusionsThe pooled prevalence of dietary diversity feeding practice among children aged 6–23 months in Ethiopia was low. Place of delivery, post natal care, antenatal care service, mothers decision making status, mothers media exposure status and being urban residence were found to be the significant factors.

BackgroundPrelacteal feeding can be defined as giving any solid or liquid foods other than breast milk during the first three days after birth. It affects timely initiation of breastfeeding and exclusive breastfeeding practices. Even though the issue was investigated in Ethiopia, fragmented and inconsistent findings were reported. Therefore, the main objective of this meta-analysis was to estimate the pooled prevalence of prelacteal feeding and associated factors in Ethiopia.MethodsThe preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses guideline was followed. Articles were systematically searched through different searching mechanisms. Joanna Briggs Institute Meta-Analysis of Statistics Assessment and Review Instrument adapted for cross-sectional study design was used for quality assessment of each individual study. The total of 28 studies were included and analyzed. The random effect model was used to estimate the pooled prevalence; subgroup analysis and meta-regression were performed to identify the probable source of heterogeneity. Both Egger’s, and Begg’s test were used to check publication bias. The effects between associated factor variables, and prelacteal feeding practices were tested.ResultsA total of 492 studies were retrieved and 28 studies were included in the meta-analysis. The pooled prevalence of prelacteal feeding practice in Ethiopia was 25.29% (95% Confidence Interval [CI] 17.43, 33.15) with severe heterogeneity (I2 = 99.7, p < 0.001) and no publication bias. Antenatal care (Odds Ratio [OR] 0.25, 95% CI 0.09, 0.69), counselling on infant feeding (OR 0.37, 95% CI 0.22, 0.63), timely initiation of breastfeeding (OR 0.28, 95% CI 0.21, 0.38) and an urban residence (OR 0.47, 95% CI 0.26, 0.86) had lower odds, while home birth had higher odds (OR 3.93, 95% CI 2.17, 7.10) of prelacteal feeding in Ethiopia.ConclusionsIn Ethiopia, one in four children were given prelacteal foods. Mothers who gave birth at home are more prone to give prelacteal foods. Whereas, antenatal care, timely initiation of breastfeeding, counseling on infant feeding and an urban residence decreases prelacteal feeding practices in Ethiopia. Therefore, the government and health institutions should focus to increase maternal health service utilization and promote infant and young child feeding practices according to the guideline.

Background: Ethiopia signed both for Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) previously and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) currently to improve food security through gender equality and empowerment of women by positioning them as household leader. However, there is no concrete evidence about the impact of being of the female gender for household head on the prevalence of food insecurity at the national level, the authors' intention being to fill this gap. Methods: Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses protocol (PRISMA-P) guideline was followed. All major databases such as PubMed/ MEDLINE, WHOLIS, Cochrane Library, Embase, PsycINFO, ScienceDirect, Web of science, and reference lists were used to identify published articles, whereas shelves, author contact, Google, and Google Scholar were also searched to identify unpublished studies. Joanna Briggs Institute Meta-Analysis of Statistical Assessment and Review Instrument (JBI-MAStARI) was used for critical appraisal of studies. Metaanalysis was conducted using the STATA software version 14. The random effect model was used to estimate the pooled prevalence of food insecurity at 95% confidence level, while subgroup analysis and meta-regression were employed to identify the possible source of heterogeneity and the associated factors respectively. Moreover, Begg's test was used to check publication bias. Results: A total of 143 articles were identified, of which 15 studies were included in the final model with a total sample size of 2084 female-headed households. The pooled estimate of food insecurity among female-headed households was 66.11% (95% confidence level (CL) 54.61, 77.60). Female-headed households had 1.94 (95% CL 1.26, 3.01) times the odds of developing food insecurity as compared with maleheaded households in Ethiopia. However, considerable heterogeneity across studies was also exhibited (I 2 = 92.5%, p value < 0.001).