Childhood Stunting and Its Associated Factors in Ethiopia

Abstract Child malnutrition is the root cause of nearly half (45%) of all child deaths, especially in low-income nations. Ethiopia has the highest frequency of stunting among Sub-Saharan African countries, at 38 percent. The study’s major goal was to use cluster specific models to identify risk factors for stunting in Ethiopian children under the age of five. The data was gathered from the EDHS 2016, a nationally representative survey of children aged 0 to 59 months. The research was carried out using generalized linear mixed models from the cluster specific model family. The variables child’s age, mother’s education level, mother’s BMI, place of residence, wealth index, and prior birth interval were determined to be important drivers of child malnutrition in Ethiopia as a result of the analysis. According to the findings, children with a shorter previous birth interval (less than 24 months) were more likely to be stunted than those with a longer previous birth interval. Rural Ethiopian children were more likely than urban Ethiopian children to be stunted. It is advised that in order to reduce childhood malnutrition, parents’ awareness and implementation of proper young child feeding practices, as well as frequent growth monitoring and appropriate and timely interventions, should be prioritized.