Infants and nutrition surveillance in Ethiopia.

Abstract

Data on the nutritional status of children under five years old are collected in Ethiopia to offer some indication of community nutritional status with the goal of delivering food relief during the early phases of famine. Cross-sectional and longitudinal data are collected on young children because of the existence of well-established international standards for comparison and because weight-for-length is more sensitive to reduced energy intakes at that age. The author explored the effect of including or excluding children under 70 cm on the estimate of the level of nutritional status or the estimate of change in nutritional status obtained from cross-sectional survey data. The study is based upon data from cluster surveys collected in central Ethiopia during June 1987-August 1988 which consist of a total of 25 estimates of the level of nutrition status and 17 comparisons of change. The analysis suggests that infants in central Ethiopia may have inadequate energy intakes from extended exclusive breastfeeding related to economic status of the household. Further since measuring infants and then excluding them either during the survey or subsequently during analysis has a time cost it is concluded that no justification exists for such practice.