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Abstract Background Malaria is widespread in Ethiopia and has been a major cause of illness and death in that country. Therefore, Ethiopia has been exerting enormous efforts towards eliminating malaria by 2030. In the context of comprehensive malaria control, the malaria vaccine is used for the prevention of Plasmodium falciparum malaria in children living in regions with moderate- to-high malaria transmission. Methods A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among caregivers of children under the age of five throughout the months of September 2021. A structured interviewer-administered questionnaire was designed for data collection, and binary logistic regression analysis was used. The final result of the association was determined based on an adjusted odds ratio (AOR) at a 95% confidence interval (CI) level, and p

Abstract Background The trio of commonest illnesses and causes mortality among children under five (Malaria, Pneumonia and Diarrhea) are easily treatable through timely exposure to cost effective interventions at the community level. Patent and proprietary medicine vendors (PPMVs) are a leading source of care for illnesses among under-five children in Nigeria. This study was designed to explore child health services offering, particularly commodity stocking patterns and case management knowledge for common childhood illnesses among PPMVs in Ebonyi and Kaduna States. Methods A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among PPMVs in four local government areas across Ebonyi and Kaduna States. Data was collected using semi-structured interviewer-administered questionnaires. Information was obtained on medicine and supplies, knowledge of common childhood illnesses management and referral practices. Results A total of 374 PPMVs were interviewed; the mean age was 33.7 ± 9.8 years. Among the 132 health trained respondents, 59.0% offer treatment services for sick children while 83.5% of the non-health trained respondents offer the same service. At least, 88.0% of the respondents keep stock ACTs, Amoxycilin DT, ORS and Zinc. About 38.5% reported stock-out of ACTs in the month preceding the study, 55.1% reported stock out lasting only 0 to 6 days. Only 83 (22.2%) of respondents knew the correct diagnosis of fast breathing among children aged 2 to less than 12 months old. Education and health training background were associated with a good knowledge of common childhood illnesses management (X2 = 44.88, p

Abstract Background Stunting, which describes a small height for one’s age, is an indicator of chronic malnutrition. It develops mainly as a result of prolonged food deprivation or a chronic disease or illness. Unintended pregnancies and unplanned births are among the psychological factors that negatively affect the nutritional status of children. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the effects of unintended pregnancies and other family and child characteristics on the nutritional status of children under 5 years old. Methods A community-based unmatched case-control study was conducted among 302 children (151 cases and 151 controls) 6–59 months old in Wonago town, Gedeo Zone, Southern Ethiopia. The cases were stunted children and the controls were non-stunted children in the study area. The cases were randomly selected from among the stunted children, and the controls were randomly selected from among the non-stunted children. The descriptive characteristics of the respondents were compared using the chi-squared test, and a multivariable logistic regression was used to assess the effects of an unintended pregnancy on stunting, after controlling for the other variables, with a p value of 0.05. Results The result revealed that unintended pregnancy is found to be among predictors of stunting where children from unintended pregnancy were about three times more likely to be stunted [AOR: 2.62, CI: (1.26, 5.45)]. The other predictors identified in this study were educational status of the father, wealth index of the household and daily meal frequency. From the finding, children from illiterate fathers [AOR: 3.43, CI: (1.04, 11.29)], children from poorer household economic status [AOR: 2.32, CI: (1.20, 4.49)] and children whom their daily meal frequency is below the recommended number of feeding [AOR: 4.50, CI: (1.31, 15.49)] were found to be more stunted. Conclusions Based on the results of this study, the children born from unintended pregnancies exhibited a significantly higher risk of stunting. Therefore, preventing unintended pregnancy could play a great role in decreasing the risk of stunting in children.

Abstract Background Stunting is an indicator of the devastating result of malnutrition in early childhood. The effects of childhood stunting are irreparable physical and cognitive harm. It is an issue of the great public health importance throughout Sub-Saharan African countries including Ethiopia. Therefore, identification of the risk factors of child stunting from recent data is very important for timely intervention. Methods The 2016 Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey data were used for this study. A generalized linear mixed model which is an extension of the general linear model was employed to identify socioeconomic, demographic, environmental and health related risk factors for stunted under-five children. Results The result shows that the age and sex of the child, preceding birth interval, mother’s body mass index, household wealth index, mother’s education level, breastfeeding period, type of toilet facility, use of internet and source of drinking water were the major determinants of stunting of under-five children in Ethiopia. Conclusion The study indicated that children from undernourished mothers, who are not breastfeeding, from poor households, households that have no toilet facilities, who are male, older age (between 12 to 59 months), who have illiterate mother and short birth spacing were associated with stunting problems. Therefore, family planning education and policy is required for the country to improve on under-five age stunting problems.

Abstract Background Diarrhoea is a main cause of morbidity and mortality in children under 5 responsible for approximately four billion cases and 1.1 million deaths annually. In developing countries, it causes two million deaths each year. The major causative organism responsible is Rotavirus which is responsible for one-third of hospitalizations with approximately 40% mortality. Results The prevalence of Rotavirus infection was 26.4% (73/277). The predominant strain of Rotavirus found was G1 21/73 (53.8%), followed by G8 9/73 (23.1%), G12 5/73 (12.8%), G9 3/73(7.7%) and G4 1/73 (2.6%). All serotypes identified were in children who had completed Rotavirus vaccination except for one who had G8 in whom the vaccine was introduced after they had completed immunizations. Conclusion The overall prevalence of rotavirus has reduced from 33.2% in 2009 to 26.4% in 2016. We have found G1 to be the predominant serotype as well as other circulating serotypes namely G4, G8, G9 and G12. Despite a reduction in prevalence, there is a need for further rotavirus surveillance in the region.