Relationship between caregivers' income generation activities and their children's animal source food intake

Christian, AK; Lartey, Anna; Colecraft, EK; Marquis, GS; Sakyi-Dawson, O.; Ahunu, B.K.; Butler, LM

doi:10.18697/ajfand.49.enam5

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 11 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Another possible explanation for the greater variety of foods consumed by microcredit group children may be due to more mothers in microcredit being traders compared to those in the non-microcredit group, as there is evidence to support that a mother's specific trade may be related to the dietary diversity of her child. Having an income generation activity related to ASF (such as selling smoked fish, eggs, or cooked food that contained ASF) was positively associated with ASF intake of children two to five years of age in Ghana (Christian et al 2012). However, information on the specific type of trading mothers were involved in was not collected in this study.…”

Section: Feeding Indicatorsmentioning

confidence: 97%

Tackling poverty through private sector microcredit programs in Ghana: Does infant and young child nutrition improve?

Friesen¹,

Marquis²,

Fallon

et al. 2012

The FASEB Journal

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Low income is a barrier to optimal feeding practices of infants and young children (IYC).Microcredit programs for rural Ghanaian women aim to increase incomes, which may improve the quantity and quality of foods given to IYC. This study examined (1) the association between a mother's participation in a microcredit-only program and IYC dietary quality and nutritional status, (2) factors influencing IYC feeding among mothers, and (3) factors influencing the incorporation of nutrition education within a microcredit program. Participants included 102 active microcredit (MC) member mothers and 102 non-microcredit (NMC) member mothers and their youngest child (6-23 mo). Information was collected on IYC feeding practices, length, and weight, and household socio-demographic characteristics. Focus group discussions were conducted with 6 NMC mothers and 15 MC mothers. Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with 5 staff associated with the MC program. A mother's participation in MC was positively associated with her child meeting minimum dietary diversity recommendations.Compared to the NMC group, IYC in the MC group met this indicator more often and consumed more legumes and nuts, and dairy products (p<0.05). There were no differences in nutritional status after adjusting for covariates. NMC mothers cited family as their main influence on IYC feeding practices while MC mothers cited health workers as most influential and reported that loans increased their financial independence but had little to no impact on IYC feeding practices. Barriers to incorporating nutrition education in a MC program included high staff caseload, lack of external training, and low priority status. Private sector activities such as MC may play a role in improving the diet of IYC in Ghana; however, added nutrition education may be necessary to see improvements in child growth. Long-term partnerships between rural banks and nutrition-related organizations are needed to ensure sustainability of education components over time.

show abstract

Section: Feeding Indicatorsmentioning

confidence: 97%

Tackling poverty through private sector microcredit programs in Ghana: Does infant and young child nutrition improve?

Friesen¹,

Marquis²,

Fallon

et al. 2012

The FASEB Journal

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…These variables were chosen based on the availability of information in the respective EDHS reports and their possible influence on consumption of ASF from previous studies. Variables such as age [18], residence [18], maternal education [30], household wealth [31], household ownership of assets [23], and ANC [32] were reported to influence ASF consumption by children.…”

Section: Explanatory Variablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trends in and predictors of animal source food consumption among 6–23 months age children in Tigrai, Northern Ethiopia: evidence from three consecutive ethiopian demographic and health surveys, EDHS 2005–2016

et al. 2023

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Despite numerous interventions, child undernutrition continues as a problem of global concern. Although consumption of animal source foods has shown positive associations with child undernutrition, no much evidence exists on its trends and predictors among children in Tigrai. Objectives This study aimed to investigate the trends in and predictors of consumption of animal source foods among children 6–23 months of age in Tigrai. Methodology This study used complex data of 756 children extracted from three consecutive Ethiopian Demographic and Health Surveys. Data were analyzed using STATA 14.0 by accounting for sampling weight and cluster and strata variables. Multivariable logistic regression was used to determine the independent predictors of animal source foods consumption. Odds ratio and 95% confidence interval were used to measure strength of association at a statistical significance of p < 0.05. Results Although statistically not significant (p-trend = 0.28), animal source foods consumption increased from 31.3% to 2005 through 35.9% in 2011 to 41.5% in 2016. For every month increase in the age of a child, a 9% increment in the odds of animal source food consumption was observed. Muslim children showed 3.1 times higher odds of animal source food consumption than Orthodox Christians. The likelihood of animal source foods consumption were 33% lower among children born to mothers who didn’t attend formal education as compared to their counterparts. A unit increase in the number of household assets and number of livestock led to a 20% and 2% increase in the odds of animal source foods consumption, respectively. Conclusion Animal source foods consumption showed a statistically non-significant increase over the three consecutive Ethiopian Demographic and Health Surveys. This study found out that consumption of animal source foods might be increased through pro-maternal education policies, programs with household asset increasing schemes, and pro-livestock projects. Our study also highlighted the need for considering religion as one important player when planning or undertaking ASF programs.

show abstract

The nutrition-microcredit synergy: A case for multiple interventions and strategies

Marquis

Colecraft²

2012

AJFAND

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Poor diet quality is the primary determinant of the high prevalence rates of malnutrition in Ghana. In this West African country, young children’s diets primarily consist of cereals and roots which have both low energy and nutrient density and poor bioavailability of micronutrients. A 2008 national survey reported that over one-third of children consumed no nutrient-rich Animal Source Foods (ASF) on the previous day. An intervention to enhance children’s diet and nutritional status was developed based on the assumption that improving knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs of caregivers would lead to increased use of ASF for young children only if ASF availability (presence in the communities) and accessibility (families’ ability to obtain ASF through purchase, trade, hunting, or raising animals at home) were also improved. The Enhancing Child Nutrition through Animal Source Food Management (ENAM) project introduced an integrated approach of microcredit and weekly sessions of nutrition education and entrepreneurship training among rural women to increase the use of ASF in the diets of their 2- to 5-year-old children. Although the project may have not reached the poorest women in the community, the integrated activities benefited many households in diverse ways – directly through increased income and improved productivity that improved purchasing power and made foods available in the home, as well as indirectly through the empowerment of women participants. Women reported increased self-confidence, leadership skills, and social capital. Children’s diets benefited the most when caregivers were engaged in enterprises related to ASF because they facilitated sharing ASF with children and the high profits from these activities increased mothers’ ability to purchase other ASF from the market. Other family members also benefited from the project through women sharing loans for joint economic activities, improving the quality of the diet for the whole family, and sharing new knowledge. Integration of rural bank partners from an early stage of the project helped transfer activities to these permanent institutions to expand and sustain project activities. The ENAM project provided the evidence that an integrated package of microcredit and education can improve household food security and improve the diet and growth of young children living in rural communities.

show abstract

Relationship between caregivers' income generation activities and their children's animal source food intake

Cited by 3 publications

References 11 publications

Tackling poverty through private sector microcredit programs in Ghana: Does infant and young child nutrition improve?

Tackling poverty through private sector microcredit programs in Ghana: Does infant and young child nutrition improve?

Trends in and predictors of animal source food consumption among 6–23 months age children in Tigrai, Northern Ethiopia: evidence from three consecutive ethiopian demographic and health surveys, EDHS 2005–2016

The nutrition-microcredit synergy: A case for multiple interventions and strategies

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About