Abstract
Despite of recent progress in reducing the incidence of child malnutrition in Bangladesh, there are large disparities exists across gender, geographical regions, ethnic and economic groups. Adivasi‟s (tribal people) are regarded as one of the most exploited and deprived section of the society and their children are one of the worst victims of under-nutrition. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence and associated factors of malnutrition in different tribal children aged 24-59 months. Data was extracted from a project named “Adivasi Fisheries Project (AFP)” and the study considered 125 children from four purposively selected household (HH) clusters of four ethnic groups (Santal, Garo, Oraon, and Hajong) by quota-sampling design using the farmer field school (FFS) as the sampling frame. Malnutrition status was determined by measuring underweight, stunting and wasting and the associations between variables and malnutrition status were found out. Regression analysis then confirmed the contributions of risk factors. The prevalence of underweight, stunting and wasting was 28%, 42% and 13% respectively. Malnutrition was found to be higher among Hajong and Oraon compared to Santal and Garo. Significant association was observed between family income and malnutrition status. Having a family income below 4000 BDT (~$50) significantly increased the risk for underweight, stunting and wasting. Moreover, younger mother‟s (age < 20 years) was more prone to have underweight and wasted children than their older counterparts. The study pinpointed that the standard of living of adivasi (tribal) people need to be improved and socio-demographic issues need to be addressed to tackle the malnutrition status of their children.Asian J. Med. Biol. Res. June 2018, 4(2): 178-185
Highlights
Childhood malnutrition is one of the leading causes of the global burden of disease in low and middle income countries including Bangladesh (Jesmin et al, 2011; Ahmed & Ahmed, 2009; Faruque et al, 2008; Black et al, 2008)
The present study aims to estimate the prevalence of malnutrition and what contributing factors affect the malnutrition status of tribal children aged 24-59 months, living in north and north-western region in Bangladesh
A study on non-Adivasi children in Bangladesh suggested that malnutrition was strongly associated with poor socio-economic status (Mohsena et al, 2010; Van de Poel et al, 2007)
Summary
Childhood malnutrition is one of the leading causes of the global burden of disease in low and middle income countries including Bangladesh (Jesmin et al, 2011; Ahmed & Ahmed, 2009; Faruque et al, 2008; Black et al, 2008). Malnutrition is the underlying causes of around 3.5 million deaths and 35% of the disease burden in children of below 5 years of age. As malnutrition is pervasive in developing world, it has been estimated that nearly one-half of all children in South Asia are malnourished (Deolalikar, 2005). Bangladesh, a developing country, is the worst victim of malnutrition where child malnutrition is very high (Rahman & Chowdhury, 2007).
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