Urban-rural disparity in stunting among Ethiopian children aged 6–59 months old: A multivariate decomposition analysis of 2019 Mini-EDHS

BACKGROUND: Childhood stunting is still a global public health challenge, including in Ethiopia. Over the past decade, in developing countries, stunting has been characterized by large rural and urban disparities. To design an effective intervention, it is necessary to understand the urban and rural disparities in stunting. OBJECTIVE: To assess the urban-rural disparities in stunting among Ethiopian children aged 6–59 months. METHODS: This study was done based on the data obtained from the 2019 mini-Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey, conducted by the Central Statistical Agency of Ethiopia and ICF international. The result of descriptive statistics was reported using the mean with standard deviation, frequency, percentages, graphs, and tables. A multivariate decomposition analysis was used to decompose the urban-rural disparity in stunting into two components: one that is explained by residence differences in the level of the determinants (covariate effects), and the other component is explained by differences in the effect of the covariates on the outcome (coefficient effects). The results were robust to the different decomposition weighting schemes. RESULT: The prevalence of stunting among Ethiopian children aged 6–59 months was 37.8% (95% CI: 36.8%, 39.6%). The difference in stunting prevalence between urban and rural residences was high (rural prevalence was 41.5%, while in urban areas it was 25.5%). Endowment and coefficient factors explained the urban-rural disparity in stunting with magnitudes of 35.26% and 64.74%, respectively. Maternal educational status, sex, and age of children were the determinants of the urban-rural disparity in stunting. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION: There is a significant stunting disparity among urban and rural children in Ethiopia. A larger portion of the urban-rural stunting disparity was explained by coefficient effects (differences in behaviour). Maternal educational status, sex, and age of children were the determinants of the disparity. So, to narrow this disparity, emphasis should be given to both resource distribution and the appropriate utilization of available interventions, including improvement of maternal education and consideration of sex and age differences during child feeding practices.