Level of minimum acceptable diet and its associated factors among children aged 12–23 months in Ugandan districts

Abstract

Uganda has made notable progress in improving child nutrition indicators, albeit not fast enough to meet global targets. Navigating the landscape of child nutrition in Uganda demands attention, particularly in light of the necessity for a minimum acceptable diet (MAD) for children aged 12–23 months. While the focus on local nutritional planning is crucial, the absence of routine-specific nutritional status data creates a significant information gap. To bridge this void, this study used datasets from the 2021 Lot Quality Assurance Sampling (LQAS) survey. Data were analysed using multilevel mixed-effects logistic regression (clustering districts based on regional boundaries) at a 5% statistical significance level using STATA version 17. Of the 7,111 children surveyed, 3,256 (49.20%) received the minimum meal frequency, 695 (9.80%) received the minimum dietary diversity, and only 380 (5.34%) received the MAD. There was a notable variation in the proportion of children that received the MAD across regions and districts. Children living in urban areas, children whose mothers had a higher education, and children whose mothers had a diverse diet were more likely to receive the MAD. Children were less likely to receive the MAD if they lived in a household that did not receive a health worker visit within the year. These findings suggest a need to prioritize initiatives aimed at increasing dietary diversity among children in Uganda. This could be done through a variety of approaches, such as leveraging the use of home gardens to boost nutrition through diverse crop cultivation, demonstration gardens, and offering nutrition counselling through village health teams.

Urban–rural disparities in minimum acceptable diet intake among children aged 6–23 months in Ethiopia: A multivariable Decomposition analysis of Ethiopian demographic and health survey 2019

“…Attaining the highest level of education emerges as a key factor in reducing the gap in MAD uptake. This finding aligns with research conducted in various regions, including Uganda, Bangladesh, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Nepal ( 19 , 23 , 29 , 30 ), where urban parents with college or higher education were more inclined to adopt MAD compared to their counterparts. This tendency can be attributed to their enhanced access to information via diverse channels, such as the Internet, leading to a better understanding of the significance of a balanced diet for children's wellbeing.…”

Geospatial pattern of level of minimum acceptable diet and its determinants among children aged 6–23 months in Ethiopia. Spatial and multiscale geographically weighted regression analysis

“…This finding is higher than the study done in in Nepal (71%) ( 33 ), Indonesia (52.3%) ( 34 ), and Congo (67%) ( 10 ). In contrast, the finding is lower than the study done in India (91.6%) ( 11 ), Uganda (94.7%) ( 35 ), and Guinea (96.9%) ( 36 ). However, the finding is consistent with the study done in East Africa (88.5%) ( 37 ).…”

Minimum acceptable diet and its predictors among children aged 6‐23 months in Ethiopia. A multilevel cloglog regression analysis

“…The finding of this study was lower than the study done in Nepal (29%) (K. C. et al, 2023 ), Indonesia (47.7%) (Dewanti et al, 2015 ) and Congo (33%) (Kambale et al, 2021 ). In contrast, the finding is higher than the study done in India (8.4%) (Acharya et al, 2021 ), Uganda (5.34%) (Kimuli et al, 2023 ) and Guinea (3.10%) (Aboagye et al, 2021 ). However, the finding consistent with the study done in east Africa (11.56%) (Worku et al, 2022 ).…”