Child Malnutrition in Ethiopia: Can Maternal Knowledge Augment the Role of Income?

Abstract

Over the past decades, child malnutrition in Ethiopia has persisted at alarmingly high rates. By applying the conditional nutrition demand approach to household data from three consecutive welfare monitoring surveys over the period 1996-1998, this study identifies household resources, parental education, food prices, and maternal nutritional knowledge as key determinants of growth faltering in Ethiopia. Income growth is important for alleviating child stunting, though on its own it will not suffice to reach the international goal of halving each country's level of child malnutrition by 2020. Universalizing access to primary schooling for girls has slightly more promise. However, to reduce child growth faltering in Ethiopia in a significant - and timely - manner, our empirical results indicate that targeted child growth monitoring and maternal nutrition education programs will be needed in conjunction with efforts to promote private income growth and formal schooling.