HOUSEHOLD FOOD SECURITY, DIETARY PATTERNS AND NUTRITIONAL STATUS OF YOUNG CHILDREN IN A NIGERIAN COMMUNITY: SITUATION OF POST-COVID-19 LOCKDOWN

The emergence of the novel Coronavirus in late 2019 led to disruptions in the food, economic and health systems. There are projections that the pandemic will worsen hunger and malnutrition in families with young children and women of reproductive age in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs). Therefore, this study investigated household food security status, dietary patterns and nutritional status of children in a Nigerian community during the COVID-19 pandemic. A total sample of 200 mother-child pairs was selected from a Nigerian community using a multi-stage sampling technique. A semi-structured interviewer-administered questionnaire, which had four sections, was used for data collection. A food security survey questionnaire was used to assess household food security, and a food frequency questionnaire was used to capture child food patterns. Dietary diversity was assessed using 24-hour dietary recall, and nutritional status was measured using anthropometric parameters. Data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The level of significance was set at p Key words: Household food security, Dietary pattern, Nutritional Status, COVID-19
INTRODUCTION The outbreak of the deadly Coronavirus in late 2019 led to the infection of millions of people worldwide [1]. Since the onset, the death toll globally is alarmingly high, [...]