UNDERNUTRITION & ITS ASSOCIATED FACTORS AMONG 6-59 MONTHS ORPHAN CHILDREN IN NEKEMTE TOWN, ETHIOPIA, 2023

ADVISORS: 1. WERKU ETAFA (MSc, Assistant Professor) 2. DEREJE TEMESGEN (BSc, MSc ABSTRACT Background: Undernutrition is a leading cause of childhood death in poor nations. Orphaned children are vulnerable because they lack parental care and support. This leads to undernutrition, especially among newborns and young children. Undernutrition is frequently associated with developmental delays and recurrent infections. There is limited study done on undernutrition and associated factor on orphaned children in Nekemte town. Objective: To assess the prevalence of undernutrition and its associated factors among orphan children aged 6-59 months in Nekemte town, Ethiopia, in 2023. Methods: A cross-sectional study design was used to collect data from 373 study participants in 1st Jun to 30th July, 2023. Data was coded and entered into the Epi Data V.4.6 software and analyzed using SPSS version 25. All anthropometric measurements enter into WHO ENA Software to convert nutritional data into a Z score of indices and transferred to SPSS version 25. A binary and multivariate logistic regression using a 95% CI was used to determine the predictors of undernutrition at p<0.05. Results: The prevalence of stunting, wasting, and underweight was 37.3% (95%CI: 32.4–41.8), 28.7% (95%CI: 23.6–33.2), 24.4% (95%CI: 20.1–28.9), respectively. Caregivers who received the child from governmental body (AOR= 1.74, 1.06–2.86) and children who received Vit. A supplementation in the last 6 month (AOR= 0.59, 0.371–0.94) are associated with stunting. Orphan aged 6-23 months (AOR= 2.76, 1.27– 6.02), orphans on treatment for acute and chronic disease (AOR= 0.45, 0.26-0.76), uncompleted vaccination (AOR = 3.53, 1.65-7.04), and orphans' caregiver who had no information about food for under-five children (AOR = 1.82, 1.08-3.06) were significantly associated with wasting. Orphan initiated additional food before six months (AOR= 2.76, 1.27–6.017) and being governmental employee (AOR=1.89, 1.07–3.34) were associated with underweight. Conclusion and recommendation: The prevalence of undernutrition among orphan children in Nekemte town is increasing. Education about infant and young child feeding practice and routine U5C regular services for the caregivers, visiting the child regularly at home by both legal bodies and healthcare workers and linking the caregivers with the orphan children supporting services is suggested. Keywords: Undernutrition, stunting, wasting, Orphan children, Nekemte, Ethiopia