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A FOOD-BASED APPROACH TO REDUCE VITAMIN A DEFICIENCY IN SOUTHERN ETHIOPIA: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY OF MATERNAL NUTRITION AND HEALTH INDICATORS
Busse, H.; Kurabachew, H.; Ptak, M. & Fofanah, M.
Abstract
One micronutrient essential for proper growth and development is Vitamin A. Children
and pregnant women are most susceptible to vitamin A deficiency (VAD) because of
the higher intake requirements needed during critical growth periods. Vitamin A
deficiency is a serious but preventable public health problem in Ethiopia. In 2012, the
International Potato Center (CIP) partnered with the University of Wisconsin-Madison
(UW) and local stakeholders in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples
Region (SNNPR), Ethiopia, to address the issue of VAD among rural SNNPR
households by increasing production and consumption of orange fleshed sweet potatoes
(OFSP). This paper presents a cross-sectional analysis of vitamin A knowledge,
consumption practices, and OFSP agronomic practices from surveys conducted among
households who participated in a food-based intervention. The study population
consisted of 150 mothers from rural households in five districts in the Sidama and
Wolayta zones in the SNNPR. Data were collected during April and May 2013 by
trained enumerators in the local language using structured questionnaires. Surveys were
adapted from validated instruments, and included questions about household socioeconomic
characteristics, agricultural practices, dietary diversity, food security, and
general health for women between 20-60 years and children between 6-59 months.
Among respondents, 63% of mothers reported knowledge about vitamin A, with
responses varying by geographic location. Among those who reported knowledge about
vitamin A, 8% identified OFSP as a source, 1% had consumed OFSP in the past 7 days,
and 0% reported that they ever prepared OFSP with an animal- or vegetable-based fat.
Vitamin A-related health issues reported by mothers include night-blindness (32%),
measles (32%) and malaria (72%). Given that existing knowledge, behaviors and
production levels of vitamin A rich foods (including OFSP) are limited within the
SNNPR study population and vary by geographic location, an integrated, food-based
approach to address VAD may be relevant in this context to sustainably support
improved health and livelihoods.
Keywords
Nutrition; orange fleshed sweet potato; behavior change; Ethiopia
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