BackgroundStunting is one of the main public health problems in Tanzania. It is caused mainly by malnutrition among children aged less than 5 years. Identifying the determinants of stunting and severe stunting among such children would help public health planners to reshape and redesign new interventions to reduce this health hazard. This study aimed to identify factors associated with stunting and severe stunting among children aged less than five years in Tanzania.MethodsThe sample is made up of 7324 children aged 0-59 months, from the Tanzania Demographic and Health Surveys 2010. Analysis in this study was restricted to children who lived with the respondent (women aged 15-49 years). Stunting and severe stunting were examined against a set of individual-, household- and community-level factors using simple and multiple logistic regression analyses.ResultsThe prevalence of stunting and severe stunting were 35.5 % [95 % Confidence interval (CI): 33.3-37.7] and 14.4 % (95 % CI: 12.9-16.1) for children aged 0-23 months and 41.6 % (95 % CI: 39.8-43.3) and 16.1 % (95 % CI: 14.8-17.5) for children aged 0-59 months, respectively. Multivariable analyses showed that the most consistent significant risk factors for stunted and severely-stunted children aged 0-23 and 0-59 months were: mothers with no schooling, male children, babies perceived to be of small or average size at birth by their mothers and unsafe sources of drinking water [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) for stunted children aged 0-23 months = 1.37; 95 % CI: (1.07, 1.75)]; [AOR for severely stunted children aged 0-23 months = 1.50; 95 % CI: (1.05, 2.14)], [AOR for stunted children aged 0-59 months = 1.42; 95 % CI: (1.13, 1.79)] and [AOR for severely stunted children aged 0-59 months = 1.26; 95 % CI: (1.09, 1.46)].ConclusionsCommunity-based interventions are needed to reduce the occurrence of stunting and severe stunting in Tanzania. These interventions should target mothers with low levels of education, male children, small- or average-size babies and households with unsafe drinking water.

Inappropriate complementary feeding is one of the major causes of undernutrition among young children in Tanzania. Prevalence of newly developed World Health Organization complementary feeding indicators and their associated factors were determined among 2402 children aged 6-23 months in Tanzania using data from the 2010 Tanzania Demographic and Health Survey. The survey used a multistage cluster sample of 10 300 households from the eight geographical zones in the country. The prevalence of the introduction of soft, semi-solid or solid foods among infants aged 6-8 months was 92.3%. Of all the children aged 6-23 months, the prevalence of minimum dietary diversity, meal frequency and acceptable diet were 38.2%, 38.6% and 15.9%, respectively. Results from multivariate analyses indicated that the main risk factors for inappropriate complementary feeding practices in Tanzania include young child's age (6-11 months), lower level of paternal/maternal education, limited access to mass media, lack of post-natal check-ups, and poor economic status. Overall, complementary feeding practices in Tanzania, as measured by dietary diversity, meal frequency and acceptable diet, are not adequately met, and there is a need for interventions to improve the nutritional status of young children in Tanzania.

ObjectiveTo examine the prevalence of key WHO breastfeeding indicators and identify determinants of suboptimal breastfeeding practices among children aged less than 24 months in Tanzania.Design, setting and participantsSecondary analyses of cross-sectional data from the 2010 Tanzania Demographic and Health Survey. The survey used a stratified two-stage cluster sample of 10 312 households from eight geographical zones of Tanzania. The sample consisted of 3112 children aged 0–23 months.Main outcome measuresOutcome measures were factors significantly associated with delayed initiation of breastfeeding, non-exclusive breastfeeding and predominant breastfeeding in the first 6 months.ResultsBreastfeeding was initiated within the first hour of birth in 46.1% of mothers. In infants aged less than 6 months, the prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding was 49.9% but only 22.9% were exclusively breastfed at 4–5 months. Seventeen per cent of infants, less than 6 months of age, were ‘predominantly breastfed’. At 12–15 months, 94.0% of infants were still breastfed but the proportion decreased to 51.1% at 20–23 months of age. Multivariate analysis revealed that the risk of delayed initiation of breastfeeding within 1 h after birth was significantly higher among young mothers aged <24 years, uneducated and employed mothers from rural areas who delivered by caesarean section and those who delivered at home and were assisted by traditional birth attendants or relatives. The risk factors associated with non-exclusive breastfeeding, during the first 6 months, were lack of professional assistance at birth and residence in urban areas. The risk of predominant breastfeeding was significantly higher among infants from the Zanzibar geographical zone.ConclusionsEarly initiation of breastfeeding and exclusive breastfeeding indicators were unsatisfactory and are below the national targets for Tanzania. To improve breastfeeding practices, national level programmes will be required, but with a focus on the target groups with suboptimal breastfeeding practices.