2025/09/05 by Solomon Feleke,1 Gudina Egata,2 Firehiwot Mesfin,3 Gizachew Yilak,4 Abebaw Molla 5
paper · doi:10.20372/nadre:17282
ABSTRACT<br> Objective The study aimed to assess the prevalence of<br> stunting, wasting, underweight and associated factors in<br> orphaned children under 5 years old.<br> Design A cross-sectional study.<br> Setting Gambella City, Ethiopia.<br> Participants A sample of 419 under 5 orphaned children<br> included in the study. Eligible households with orphans<br> had selected using a systematic random sampling method.<br> The lottery method was used when more than one eligible<br> study participants live in the household. An OR with 95% CI<br> was performed to measure the strength of association<br> between each dependent variable and independent<br> variables. Variables with p<0.05 were declared statistically<br> significant.<br> Primary outcome The main outcome of this study was<br> the prevalence of undernutrition among orphaned under 5<br> and its associated factors.<br> Results Prevalence of stunting, wasting and underweight<br> in orphan children under 5 were 12.2%, 37.8% and 21.7%,<br> respectively. The prevalnce of wasting peaks among age<br> group of 36–47 months (42.5%), whereas underweight<br> peaks in 48–59 months (27.7%). Food insecurity, wealth<br> index, family size, vitamin A supplementation, diarrhoea,<br> fever 2 weeks before the survey, children under 5 and<br> parents’ death were associated with undernutrition.<br> Conclusion The prevalence of stunting, wasting and<br> underweight among orphan children under 5 was<br> significantly high. Multisectoral collaborative efforts<br> towards access to health services, improving incomegenerating activities, micronutrient supplementation<br> and social support and protection targeting orphan and<br> vulnerable populations have to be built up.