Sustainable under nutrition reduction program and dietary diversity among children’s aged 6–23 months, Northwest Ethiopia: Comparative cross-sectional study

INTRODUCTION: Adequate dietary diversity is vital for the survival, growth and development of infants and children. Inadequate dietary diversity is the major cause of micronutrient deficiency in Sub-saharan Africa, including Ethiopia, where only less than one-fourth of the children aged 6–23 months obtain adequate diversified diet. Thus country implemented a strategy known as the Sustainable Undernutrtion Reduction (SUR) programs to alleviate the problem. However, empirical evidences are scarce on the impact of the program on children aged 6–23 months. Therefore, this study aimed to compare the level of dietary diversity among children aged 6–23 months in districts covered and not covered by SURE program in West Gojjam zone. METHODS: A community based comparative cross-sectional study was conducted in three districts of West Gojjam zone, Ethiopia, from February 29 to April 20, 2019. A total of 832 mother and child pairs were selected by the simple random sampling technique. A pretested and structured interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect data. A binary logistic regression model was fitted to identify factors associated with dietary diversity. Crude odds and adjusted odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated to assess the strength of associations and significance of the identified factors for dietary diversity score. RESULT: The overall proportion of adequate dietary diversity among children aged 6–23 months was 29.9% (95% CI: 27.0–33.0), whereas in SURE covered and uncovered districts it was 33.4% (95%CI: 29.0–38.and 26.4%(95% CI: 22.0, 31.0), respectively. ANC (Antenatal care) (AOR = 1.7; 95% CI: 1.16, 2.55) and postnatal care services (AOR = 2.1; 95% CI: 1.38, 3.28), participating in food preparation programs (AOR = 1.9; 95% CI: 1.19, 2.96), GMP (AOR = 2.74,95%CI:1.80, 4.18), vitamin A supplementation (AOR = 2.10,95%CI:1.22, 3.61) and household visits by health extension workers (AOR = 2.0; 95% CI: 1.25, 3.21) were significantly associated with dietary diversity. CONCLUSION: The proportion of adequate dietary diversity was higher among children in the program than those out of the program. ANC visits, PNC follow-ups, women’s participating in food preparation programs and household visits by health extension workers were significantly associated with dietary diversity. Therefore, and strengthening and scaling up the program to non covered districts and providing health and nutrition counseling on Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) during ANC and PNC services are recommended for achieving the recommended dietary diversity.