Factors Contributing to Child Malnutrition in Tigra y, Northern Ethiopia*

Objective: Estimate levels of and identify factors contributi ng to child malnutrition in Tigray, Northern Ethiopia. Design : Cross-sectional survey Setting : Rural communities from four zones of Tigray. Methods Three hundred and twenty one under five children were recruited from 587 randomly selected households. Household information and anthropometric measurements were collected. Multiple regression analysis and AN OVA were used for statistical analysis. Results The levels of stunting, under weight and wasting we re 42.7%, 38.3% and 13.4% respectively. A very high proportion of the mothers (80%) initiated feeding of newborns with pre-lacteal feeds primarily butter or water. F amily foods and cereal-based porridge were the main complementary foods after six months. Older children were more likely to be malnourished. Child age, maternal anthropometric characteristics, inadequate complementary foods, and area of residence were the main contributing factors to child malnutrition. Conclusion Malnutrition gets worse as the children grow older. The energy and nutrient density of the complementary foods are low as the f oods were prepared from a limited number of local staple cereals without the addition of sugar, fat/oil or animal products. More importantly, these foods are diluted with wate r to reduce their viscosity. This makes the quality and quantity of the foods insuffi cient to prevent stunting. Sustained nutrition education programs focusing on appropriat e complementary feeding practices are recommended.