Abstract:
Introduction: The health and growth of children under the age of two years are highly affected by insufficient quantities and inadequate quality of complementary foods. Despite the continuous efforts of the government, the practice of suboptimal feeding with young children is still high in developing countries with the highest burden of malnutrition. Recently, new indicators have been taken by the World Health Organization. However, there is a dearth of empirical data on minimum acceptable diet practices in Ethiopia, including the study area. Therefore, this study aims to assess the minimum acceptable diet and associated factors among infants and young children aged 6-23 months in Gondar city using the updated indictor.
Objective: To assess minimum acceptable diet and associated factors among infants and young children aged 6-23 months in Gondar city, Northwest Ethiopia, 2024.
Methods: A community based cross-sectional study was conducted in Gondar city from May 22 to June 26, 2024, on a total of 844 child-mother pairs using multistage stratified sampling techniques. Samples were taken proportionally to the sample frame, and data was collected by Kobo toolbox using a structured interviewer-administered questionnaire and exported to SPSS version 27 software. Variables with a p-value <0.2 in the bivariable analysis were fitted into the multivariable analysis. Both COR and AOR with 95% CI were calculated to show the strength of the association and variables with p-value <0.05 were taken as statistically significant.
Result: About 23.9% (95%CI 21-26.9) infants and young children achieved minimum acceptable diet. Mothers of government employee [AOR= 2.85, 95%CI (1.21-6.74)], wealth index; medium [AOR= 1.82, 95%CI (1.12-2.95)] and rich [AOR= 2.38, 95%CI (1.48-3.83)], mothers who have done child growth monitoring [AOR= 1.5, 95%CI (0.99-2.53)], children in the age group of 9–11 [AOR= 2.07, 95%CI (1.05-4.09)] and 18-23 months [AOR= 2.87, 95%CI (1.41-5.84)] and appropriate timey initiation of complementary feeding [AOR= 9.03, 95%CI (5.58-14.63)] were significantly associated.
Conclusion: The study revealed that almost a quarter of young children had achieved a minimum acceptable diet, which is far below what has been targeted by the World Health Organization and the national Ethiopian government. Therefore, expanding child growth monitoring and promotion programs by providing training to health extension workers and educating mothers about optimal feeding practices is recommended.
