Nutritional Status and Associated Factors among Children under Five years in Ruhango Health Center Catchment Area, Rwanda

Undernutrition among children under five years is one of the major public health issues worldwide in developing countries and occurs prominently. In Rwanda, according to Demographic Health Survey in 2019-2020, the prevalence of stunting was 33.0% while 8.0% were underweight. The aim of the study was conducted to determine nutritional status and associated factors in order to plan and alleviate child malnutrition among children under five years at Ruhango Health Center and its catchment area. A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted. All children (200) were included with their caregivers who visited to the health center from August to September 2022. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data. Descriptive statistics using counts and proportions were computed to describe the basic characteristics of respondents. Chi-square test was used to establish factors associated with children undernutrition. Multivariable logistic regression model was performed to control the confounding variables. The level of significance was set at 5%. Ethical clearance to collect data was obtained from Mounty Kenya University. The study showed that most of the children were aged between 6 to 24 months (94.5%) and males were 52.0% compared to 48.0% of their female counterparts. The study concludes that the prevalence of under nutrition was relatively high but lower than the national average with respondent factors that are associated malnutrition. Therefore, public health sector and local government should increase access to clean water and also to increase the awareness of caregivers on balanced diet.