Prevalence of undernutrition and potential risk factors among children below five years of age in Somali region, Ethiopia: evidence from 2016 Ethiopian demographic and health survey

BACKGROUND: Childhood under-nutrition is far-reaching in low and middle-income nations. Undernutrition is one of the major open wellbeing concerns among newborn children and youthful children in Ethiopia. The present study aimed to explore the potential risk factors of undernutrition among children under 5 years of age in Somali Region, Ethiopia. METHODS: The data for this study was extricated from the Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey (EDHS) 2016. The data collected from 1339 children born 5 years before was considered within the analysis. A multivariable binary logistic regression analysis was utilized at a 5% level of significance to decide the individual and community-level variables related to childhood malnutrition. RESULTS: The prevalence of stunting, underweight and wasting were 27.4, 28.7 and 22.7%, respectively. About 16.1% of children were both stunted and underweight; the extent of both being underweight and wasted was 11.7%, the prevalence of both stunted and wasted children was 5.5%, and all three malnutrition conditions were 4.7% children. Among the variables considered in this study, age of the child in months, type of birth, anemia level, size of child at birth, sex of the child, mothers’ BMI and sources of drinking water were significantly related to stunting, underweight and wasting in Somali Region. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of stunting, underweight and wasting was relatively high. Undernutrition is one of the major open wellbeing concerns among children in Somali region. The impact of these variables ought to be considered to develop strategies for decreasing the lack of healthy sustenance due to undernutrition in the study areas. Hence, intercession should be centered on making strides for the under-nutrition determinant variables of the children to be solid, to improve the child’s wholesome status, and decrease child mortality quickly.