Child Stunting and Its Determinants In Migori County, Kenya

Abstract

Stunting affects over 151 million children worldwide with 58 million residing in Africa and 26% from Kenya. It reflects a state of chronic malnutrition with adverse effects on child survival, cognitive development and health. This study aimed at establishing the prevalence and determinants of stunting among children aged two years and below in Migori County. This was a cross-sectional study design that sampled 92 children. Child’s age and length were obtained. ENA for SMART software computed stunting indice based on Height-for-Age (HAZ) WHO Z -scores. A total of 25% of children were stunted and 28% were girls. Those aged between 12 and 18 months recorded a prevalence of 31%. Only 45% of children were exclusively breastfed while 3% of them stopped breastfeeding at age between 19 and 24 months. Bivariate analysis showed that mother’s marital status (p=0.036), fathers’ income (p=0.025) and monthly house rent paid (p=0.042) were linked to child stunting. Logistic regression analysis revealed that fathers who were earning more than Ksh 3,000.00 per month had 4 times higher odds [OR: 4.48: 95% CI: 1.05-19.04; p=0.042] of their children being stunted while parents paying less than Ksh 3,000.00 per month for house rent had 4 times higher odds [OR: 4.46: 95% CI: 0.95-21.00; p=0.049] of their children being stunted. In conclusion, 25% of children were stunted with 28% being girls. Fathers’ monthly income and renting a house were key links to child stunting in the county. Research on determinants of child stunting with nutrition interventions targeting children aged below two years is recommended. Keywords: Determinants, stunting, Z-score, cross-sectional, age.