Affiliation:
1. Department of Orthopedics, Lund University, 221 85 Lund, Sweden
2. Department of Global Public Health, Karolinska Institutet, 171 77 Stockholm, Sweden
Abstract
Childhood stunting is a significant public health concern in Bangladesh. This study analysed the data from the Healthy Village programme, which aims to address childhood stunting in southern coastal Bangladesh. The aim was to assess childhood stunting prevalence over time and explore the risk factors in the programme areas. A cross-sectional, secondary data analysis was conducted for point-prevalence estimates of stunting from 2018 to 2021, including 132,038 anthropometric measurements of under-five children. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted for risk factor analysis (n = 20,174). Stunting prevalence decreased from 51% in 2018 to 25% in 2021. The risk of stunting increased in hardcore poor (aOR: 1.46, 95% CI: 1.27, 1.68) and poor (aOR: 1.50, 95% CI: 1.33, 1.70) versus rich households, children with mothers who were illiterate (aOR: 1.25, 95% CI: 1.09, 1.44) and could read and write (aOR: 1.35, 95% CI: 1.16, 1.56) versus mothers with higher education, and children aged 1–2 years compared with children under one year (aOR: 1.32, 95% CI: 1.20, 1.45). The stunting rate was halved over three years in programme areas, which is faster than the national trend. We recommend addressing socioeconomic inequalities when tackling stunting and providing targeted interventions to mothers during the early weaning period.
Reference31 articles.
1. Food Insecurity and Child Undernutrition: Evidence from BDHS 2011;Hasan;J. Food Secur.,2013
2. National Institute of Population Research and Training (NIPORT), Mitra and Associates and ICF International (2022, December 01). Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey 2011, Available online: http://www.niport.gov.bd.
3. National Institute of Population Research Training, (NIPORT) (2019). ICF Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey 2017–2018: Key Indicators.
4. The World Health Organization’s global target for reducing childhood stunting by 2025: Rationale and proposed actions;Dewey;Matern. Child Nutr.,2013
5. Sultana, P., Rahman, M.M., and Akter, J. (2019). Correlates of stunting among under-five children in Bangladesh: A multilevel approach. BMC Nutr., 5.