Determinants of stunting among children under age five in Burundi: Evidence from the 2016–2017 Burundi Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS 2016–17)

Abstract

Burundi has one of the highest prevalence of stunting in the world. This study aimed to identify determinants of stunting among children under age five in Burundi. A total of 4993 children with anthropometric measurements from the 2016–2017 Burundi Demographic and Health Survey were included in the study. Stunting was assessed from the height‐for‐age Z‐scores (HAZ). Logistic regression models were analyzed to identify demographic, maternal, child‐related, and structural variables that influence stunting. In total, 56.9% of children under age five were stunted, of those 31.0% moderately and 25.9% severely. Multivariable logistic regression indicated that older children, male children (adjusted OR (aOR) = 1.41, 95% CI 1.24–1.61), and children who were perceived as small (aOR = 2.00, 95% CI 1.55–2.59) or very small at birth (aOR = 2.37, 95% CI 1.57–3.59) were significantly more likely to be stunted. Moreover, children of single mothers, with lower levels of education, who were underweight at the time of the survey (aOR = 1.95, 95% CI 1.42–2.68), who had short stature (aOR = 3.76, 95% CI 2.50–5.66) or who conceived more than four children (aOR = 1.22, 95% CI 1.05–1.42) were more commonly stunted. Stunting was more prevalent in rural areas (aOR = 2.53, 95% CI 1.72–3.73) and in households with no access to improved types of toilet facilities (aOR = 1.27, 95% CI 1.10–1.45). The results of this study show that the prevalence of stunting in children under age five in Burundi is alarmingly high and underscores the urgent need for decisive and determined action.

Determinants of food security status of household in west Gojjam zone, Ethiopia

“…This means that when people learn more, they are more likely to have enough food to eat and become food secured. This finding agrees with that of Edriss and Aisay ( 2020 ) and Assefa and Beyene ( 2023 ), and the results found that education has a positive and significant effect on food security and are also in line with the study of Khakpour et al ( 2021 ) who stated that the level of education has a significant and positive association with food security status of the household, and also agrees with the study of Gaiser et al ( 2023 ) who state that lower level of education has a significant association in malnutrition which causes underweight.…”

Food security and nutrition competencies diminish the role of GDP in predicting stunting variations among countries

“…Stunting appears to be negatively associated with GDP (Mary, 2018), and so at the international level, the decisionmaking process for accessing resources to implement programs is done based on GDP (Costanza, Hart, Talberth, & Posner, 2009). Efforts to reduce stunting are often directed towards increasing income without assurance or monitoring the utilization of added income at the population, family, or individual level, even though GDP is found to be only a modest predictor of stunting (Gaiser, Winkler, Klug, Nkurunziza, & Stelzle, 2023;Mary, 2018). In consequence, interventions for reducing human wellness disparities need to explore mediators that are more directly related to human wellness.…”