Limited water access is associated with food insecurity and diarrheal episodes among children suffering from moderate acute malnutrition in Far-North Cameroon
To gain further understanding of the interlinkages between poor water access, household food insecurity, and undernutrition among children, this study used a cross-sectional design with 474 female caretakers of children suffering from moderate acute malnutrition (MAM) to explore the relationship bet...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IWA Publishing
2022-01-01
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| Series: | Journal of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Development |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://washdev.iwaponline.com/content/12/1/68 |
| _version_ | 1818138764822708224 |
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| author | Carole Debora Nounkeu Ismael Teta Jigna Morarji Dharod Brice Ulrich Saha Foudjo Francoise Raissa Ntentie Azantsa Kingue Boris Nguefack-Tsague Georges Julius Oben |
| author_facet | Carole Debora Nounkeu Ismael Teta Jigna Morarji Dharod Brice Ulrich Saha Foudjo Francoise Raissa Ntentie Azantsa Kingue Boris Nguefack-Tsague Georges Julius Oben |
| author_sort | Carole Debora Nounkeu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | To gain further understanding of the interlinkages between poor water access, household food insecurity, and undernutrition among children, this study used a cross-sectional design with 474 female caretakers of children suffering from moderate acute malnutrition (MAM) to explore the relationship between limited access to water and diarrheal diseases among children, aged <5 years, experiencing MAM. The mean age of the caretakers was 28.50±6.88 years and that of their MAM children (sex ratio=0.7) was 17.79±9.59 months. The participants reported spending an average of 19.29±15.69 min for one trip to fetch water. A negative correlation was found between mean time spent fetching drinking water and hygiene and handwashing score (r=−0.141, p=0.003). Furthermore, the more severe the food insecurity status of a household, the farther the family member likely had to go to fetch drinking water [F(2, 444)=8.64, p≤0.001]. Results from binary logistic regression showed that children from households practicing open defecation (p=0.008) and/or having inadequate hygiene practices (p=0.004) had increased odds of developing diarrhea. Therefore, ameliorating water access in households with MAM children could contribute to improvements in hygiene and sanitation attitudes with a subsequent increase in the effectiveness of nutrition interventions aiming at reducing acute malnutrition among children. HIGHLIGHTS
Wasting is a huge public health emergency in sub-Saharan Africa with 6.9% of children aged <5 years being affected.;
The existence of relationships between the different forms of undernutrition and water, sanitation, and hygiene may contribute toward the persistency of children's poor nutritional status.;
Children from households practicing open defecation or with poor hygiene practices have increased odds of having diarrhea.; |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-11T10:17:23Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f6697f70716843489ebb68c628b1ad7c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2043-9083 2408-9362 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-11T10:17:23Z |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
| publisher | IWA Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Development |
| spelling | doaj.art-f6697f70716843489ebb68c628b1ad7c2022-12-22T01:11:35ZengIWA PublishingJournal of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Development2043-90832408-93622022-01-01121687910.2166/washdev.2021.171171Limited water access is associated with food insecurity and diarrheal episodes among children suffering from moderate acute malnutrition in Far-North CameroonCarole Debora Nounkeu0Ismael Teta1Jigna Morarji Dharod2Brice Ulrich Saha Foudjo3Francoise Raissa Ntentie4Azantsa Kingue Boris5Nguefack-Tsague Georges6Julius Oben7 Regional Hospital Limbe, South West, P.O. Box 219, Limbe, Cameroon Helen Keller International, Yaoundé, Cameroon Department of Nutrition, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC, USA Department of Biochemistry, University of Bamenda, Bamenda, Cameroon Higher Teacher's Training College, University of Maroua, Maroua, Cameroon Faculty of Sciences, University of Yaounde 1, Yaoundé, Cameroon Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Yaounde 1, Yaoundé, Cameroon Faculty of Sciences, Department of Biochemistry, University of Yaounde 1, Yaoundé, Cameroon To gain further understanding of the interlinkages between poor water access, household food insecurity, and undernutrition among children, this study used a cross-sectional design with 474 female caretakers of children suffering from moderate acute malnutrition (MAM) to explore the relationship between limited access to water and diarrheal diseases among children, aged <5 years, experiencing MAM. The mean age of the caretakers was 28.50±6.88 years and that of their MAM children (sex ratio=0.7) was 17.79±9.59 months. The participants reported spending an average of 19.29±15.69 min for one trip to fetch water. A negative correlation was found between mean time spent fetching drinking water and hygiene and handwashing score (r=−0.141, p=0.003). Furthermore, the more severe the food insecurity status of a household, the farther the family member likely had to go to fetch drinking water [F(2, 444)=8.64, p≤0.001]. Results from binary logistic regression showed that children from households practicing open defecation (p=0.008) and/or having inadequate hygiene practices (p=0.004) had increased odds of developing diarrhea. Therefore, ameliorating water access in households with MAM children could contribute to improvements in hygiene and sanitation attitudes with a subsequent increase in the effectiveness of nutrition interventions aiming at reducing acute malnutrition among children. HIGHLIGHTS Wasting is a huge public health emergency in sub-Saharan Africa with 6.9% of children aged <5 years being affected.; The existence of relationships between the different forms of undernutrition and water, sanitation, and hygiene may contribute toward the persistency of children's poor nutritional status.; Children from households practicing open defecation or with poor hygiene practices have increased odds of having diarrhea.;http://washdev.iwaponline.com/content/12/1/68diarrheafood insecuritymoderate acute malnutritionwashwater insecurity |
| spellingShingle | Carole Debora Nounkeu Ismael Teta Jigna Morarji Dharod Brice Ulrich Saha Foudjo Francoise Raissa Ntentie Azantsa Kingue Boris Nguefack-Tsague Georges Julius Oben Limited water access is associated with food insecurity and diarrheal episodes among children suffering from moderate acute malnutrition in Far-North Cameroon Journal of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Development diarrhea food insecurity moderate acute malnutrition wash water insecurity |
| title | Limited water access is associated with food insecurity and diarrheal episodes among children suffering from moderate acute malnutrition in Far-North Cameroon |
| title_full | Limited water access is associated with food insecurity and diarrheal episodes among children suffering from moderate acute malnutrition in Far-North Cameroon |
| title_fullStr | Limited water access is associated with food insecurity and diarrheal episodes among children suffering from moderate acute malnutrition in Far-North Cameroon |
| title_full_unstemmed | Limited water access is associated with food insecurity and diarrheal episodes among children suffering from moderate acute malnutrition in Far-North Cameroon |
| title_short | Limited water access is associated with food insecurity and diarrheal episodes among children suffering from moderate acute malnutrition in Far-North Cameroon |
| title_sort | limited water access is associated with food insecurity and diarrheal episodes among children suffering from moderate acute malnutrition in far north cameroon |
| topic | diarrhea food insecurity moderate acute malnutrition wash water insecurity |
| url | http://washdev.iwaponline.com/content/12/1/68 |
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