Severe household food insecurity is associated with childhood malaria in rural South Haiti

Abstract

Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and is heavily affected by food insecurity (FI) and malaria. To find out if these two conditions are associated with each other we studied a convenience sample of 153 women with children under five in Camp Perrin, South Haiti. Household food insecurity was assessed with the 16‐item ELCSA scale previously validated in the target communities. ELCSA's reference time period was the three months preceding the survey and it was answered by the mother. Since no households were food secure, households were categorized as either mild/moderately FI (42.7%, ELCSA score range:1‐10) or severely FI (57.3%, ELCSA score range:11‐16). 34.0% of women reported that their children had malaria during the 2 months preceding the survey. Multivariate analyses showed that severe FI was a risk factor for malaria (OR: 5.4; 95% CI: 1.7‐17.2). Children who were not fed colostrum at birth were also at higher risk for malaria (4.9; 1.3‐18.9). Additional risk factors for malaria were: female headed household, trader/farmer (vs. wage worker), maternal education, poor child health (maternal self‐report), and a child BMI < 16. Funded by the AgroSalud Project (CIDA # 7034161).