Prevalence and Associated Factors of Acute Malnutrition Among 6-59 Month Children in Adi-Harush and Hitsats Refugee Camps in Tigray Region Northern Ethiopia, 2017

Background: Wasting is characterized by low weight for height and it is common in developing countries. Wasted children have lower resistance to infection, impaired learning ability and reduce economic productivity. Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence and associated factors of acute malnutrition among children aged 6-59 months in Adi-harush and Hitsats Eritrean refugee camps. Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted from March 1 to April 15/2017, at Adi-Harush and Hitsats Refugee Camps. A total of 471 subjects were selected using the multi-stage sampling technique and Pre-tested and structured questionnaire was used to collect data. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was fitted to identify factors associated with acute malnutrition. Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) with the corresponding 95% Confidence Interval (CI) was used to show the strength of associations and variables with p-values of <0.05 were considered as statistically significant. Results: The finding of this study revealed that 37%, 21.6% and 11% of children were stunted, underweight and wasted respectively. Child age 48-57 months (AOR= 0.12, 95%CI: 0.03-0.39), frequency of feeding less than 3 times a day (AOR= 1.95, 95%CI: 1.001-3.8) and not exclusive breast feeding (AOR= 2.51, 95%CI: 1.17-5.40) were significantly associated with wasting. Conclusion: The prevalence of wasting (11%) in the study area is very high. Frequency of feeding, exclusive breast-feeding and child age were significantly associated with wasting. Improve community health education for pregnant and lactating mothers and giving exclusive breast feeding for the children’s are one of the prevention mechanisms for child wasting