This first account of dietary and environmental risk factors involved in the etiology of early childhood malnutrition in Uganda indicates differences in risk factors for marasmus and underweight compared with stunting and low MUAC. The high prevalence of malnutrition and current infection of children in this survey suggests poor immune function as a result of inadequate nutrition.

Because HIV/AIDS negatively impacts on the food security status of households, it is crucial to identify how households respond to these impacts, in order to identify positive food security entry points and design strategies that can effectively alleviate food insecurity among the households of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). A cross-sectional study was thus undertaken to establish how HIV affected households in an urban Ugandan setting in terms of response to food shortages and the interrelations between the practice of agriculture by PLWHA households within and around town, food security, access to food aid and dietary diversity among these households. Data for this cross-sectional study were collected using quantitative methods from 144 randomly recruited households of PLWHA (aged 15-49 years) residing in Jinja town in Eastern Uganda. The study showed that the HIV/AIDS pandemic has increased the inability of affected households in the study area to put enough food on the table, possibly because of the continued decreased productivity in these households and the high expenditure on medical costs. Various coping mechanisms identified in the households of PLWHA may contribute to poor adherence to antiretroviral regimes and poor quality of life for all household members. However, the practice of agriculture by PLWHA households was one of the positive coping mechanisms to alleviate food insecurity.

No abstract

Zinc supplementation may counter the age-related decrease in MUAC often observed in preschool children in developing countries. The study provides evidence that zinc may not be the most limiting nutrient for weight gain in children of poor nutritional status, but may become so as nutritional status improves.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of anaemia and associated factors among under-fives and their mothers in a rural area of Western Uganda. Design: A cross-sectional investigation using both qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection. Stratified multistage sampling methods were used to select the study sample. A haemoglobinometer was used to assess Hb levels in the blood. Setting: A rural district in Western Uganda. Subjects: Children aged 6-59 months and their mothers aged 15-49 years. Results: The overall prevalence of Fe-deficiency anaemia among children and their mothers was 26?2 % and 17?9 %, respectively. There was a significant correlation (r 5 0?5, P 5 0?008) between the Hb levels of the mothers and their children. Place of birth, age of the child, factors related to complementary foods, and formal education and nutrition knowledge of the mother were major factors that were significantly associated (r 5 0?05, P 5 0?05) with low Hb levels among the children. The most important factors that were associated with low Hb levels of the mothers were their formal education, nutrition knowledge and health status. Conclusions: Fe-deficiency anaemia was found to be a major problem in this cohort of children and their mothers. Dietary factors and sociodemographic factors were the major factors associated with high levels of anaemia among the children and their mothers. It is therefore recommended that rural mothers should be sensitized on best practices for prevention of anaemia among both women and children.