PREDICTORS OF CHILD STUNTING IN FITCHE TOWN, NORTH SHEWA ZONE, ETHIOPIA

Stunting is a well-known child health indicator for chronic malnutrition. The nutritional status of children is a good gauge for the nutritional well-being of the population, and it is, nowadays, one of the key issues in interrupting generational poverty transmissions as they bear the brunt of poverty. There has been scarcity of disaggregated survey to explore covariates of child stunting. This study attempted to identify socio-economic, demographic and other proximate factors associated with stunting of children under the age of five in Fitche town. The survey was cross- sectional, conducted using multistage sampling procedures to collect information from 160 children and caregivers. The anthropometric, descriptive and logistic analyses to determine the prevalence and identify covariates of child stunting were applied using Epi info and STATA software. Logistic analysis of the effects of selected child and maternal characteristics, child caring practices, and environmental health conditions on child stunting was done. Therefore, birth order, family size, maternal education, remittances, farm income, income from women employment and size of cultivated land were found to be the strongest predictors. However, the estimated coefficients of vaccine status of the child, Low Birth Weight, latrine facility in the house, morbidity status of the child, child birth interval, distance to the nearest health center, antenatal care visit of the mother and household’s source of water indicated theoretically inconsistent and statistically insignificant effect on the likelihood of child stunting. The prevalence of child stunting was 45%, which is significantly higher than the regional and national averages. Among children who were stunted, 11.9 % were moderately stunted compared to 33.1% who were severely stunted. The proportion of stunted children for male was greater than female. There is a need to increase maternity care and education as this would make them amenable to health interventions that help improve not only their nutritional status and that of their child but also improve their income earning potential and food purchasing power. Addressing poverty may lead to improvements in the nutrition status of children as household economic status significantly determines nutritional status in the town.