Prevalence of malnutrition among children under five years old in Khartoum State, Sudan

Abstract

Malnutrition is the most common nutritional disorder in developing countries and it remains one of the most common causes of morbidity and mortality among children worldwide. To identify the prevalence of malnutrition (underweight, stunting and wasting) among children under 5 years old living in Khartoum state, Sudan. A cross-sectional community-based descriptive study was conducted, to collect primary information from households using a scientific questionnaire, anthropometric measurements (mid-upper arm circumference – MUAC, weight and length/height), and clinical evaluations of the malnourished children to check the presence of severe protein energy malnutrition (PEM). The results showed that socioeconomic factor, poor nutrition, and mothers’ knowledge and feeding practices led to increase in the prevalence of malnutrition. MUAC indicator showed that 20.9% of children were badly nourished and 79.1% of the children were well nourished. In addition, to poor economic situation, the study found that about 15.4% of children were underweight, 8.8% were moderate underweight and 6.6% were severe underweight. The prevalence of wasting was 21.1% (12.3% moderate and 8.8% severe) and the prevalence of stunting was 24.9% (15.1% moderate and 9.7% severe). The World Health Organization standard showed that the prevalence of global malnutrition, moderate malnutrition and severe malnutrition was 12.8%, 8.0% and 13.6%, respectively. The National Center for Health Statistics reference showed that the prevalence of global malnutrition, moderate malnutrition and severe malnutrition was 23.1%, 10.2% and 12.9%, respectively. We conclude that improvements in child feeding, and better maternal education are needed to maintain the children's nutritional status.