BackgroundOne of the reported causes of high malnutrition rates in Burundi and Rwanda is children's inadequate dietary habits. The diet of children may be affected by individual characteristics and by the characteristics of the households and the communities in which they live. We used the minimum dietary diversity of children (MDD-C) indicator as a proxy of diet quality aiming at: 1) assess how much of the observed variation in MDD-C was attributed to community clustering, and 2) to identify the MDD-C associated factors.MethodsData was obtained from the 2010 Demographic and Health Surveys of Burundi and Rwanda, from which only children 6 to 23 months from rural areas were analysed. The MDD-C was calculated according to the 2007 WHO/UNICEF guidelines. We computed the intra-class coefficient to assess the percentage of variation attributed to the clustering effect of living in the same community. And then we applied two-level logit regressions to investigate the association between MDD-C and potential risk factors following the hierarchical survey structure of DHS.ResultsThe MDD-C was 23% in rural Rwanda and 16% in rural Burundi, and a 29% of its variation in Rwanda and 17% in Burundi was attributable to community clustering. Increasing age and living standards were associated with higher MDD-C in both countries, and only in Burundi also increasing level of education of the mother's partner. In Rwanda alone, the increasing ages of the head of the household and of the mother at first birth were also positively associated with it. Despite the identification of an important proportion of the MDD-C variation due to clustering, we couldn't identify any community variable significantly associated with it.ConclusionsWe recommend further research using hierarchical models, and to integrate dietary diversity in holistic interventions which take into account both the household's and the community's characteristics the children live in.

Micronutrient malnutrition is a challenge for women of reproductive age, who are particularly vulnerable due to greater micronutrient needs. The minimum dietary diversity for women (MDD‐W) indicator is a micronutrient adequacy's proxy for those women, but little is known about its relation to other dimensions. We assessed MDD‐W and its association with other socioeconomic, food security and purchasing practices in urban Burkina Faso. We conducted multi‐stage cluster sampling in two main cities of Burkina Faso, stratified by type of district, and interviewed 12 754 women in the 2009‐2011 period. We obtained food consumption data through unquantified 24 hour recalls and computed MDD‐W as consuming at least five out of ten predefined food groups. We constructed multivariable regression models with sociodemographic and food security covariates. MDD‐W in urban Burkina Faso was 31%, higher in Ouagadougou (33%) than in Bobo‐Dioulasso (29%), and lower in unstructured districts. The most frequently consumed food groups were ‘all starchy', ‘vitamin A rich dark green leafy vegetables' and ‘other vegetables'. Household's expenses were associated with higher likelihood of MDD‐W, while the association with household food security indicators varied by year and type of district. Purchasing foods in markets and choosing the place of purchase based on large choice rather than proximity showed a positive association with the MDD‐W. Only one in three women in urban Burkina Faso reached the minimum dietary diversity, and although socioeconomic and food security variables had the greatest effect on MDD‐W, purchasing practices, like going to the market, also showed a positive effect.

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In this study, descriptive statistics are used to calculate how households in Rwanda that are participating in the Land Use Consolidation (LUC) programme acquire food. Pooled ordinary least squares (OLS) is mobilized to quantify the effect of LUC outcomes on food security at household level. A Lorenz curve and Gini index are used to calculate how household income is distributed among households in the LUC programme. Finally, a probit regression model is applied to identify factors that determine a household's level of satisfaction with LUC. First, this study suggests that the majority of households participating in LUC have an acceptable food consumption score (FCS). Second, it shows that such households are more reliant on the market for food acquisition. Third, the study estimates the elasticity of crop yield, extension services and expenditure on food items on a household's FCS to be about 46 per cent, 26 per cent and 13 per cent respectively. Fourth, it demonstrates that income from agricultural production is distributed less equitably among LUC households. Finally, it shows that the majority of households participating in LUC are highly satisfied with the programme and that households headed by females are likely to be more satisfied with LUC adoption than those headed by males.