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Background: Armed conflicts are associated with an increased risk of food insecurity, the leading cause of malnutrition in low-and-middle-income countries. Multiple studies have uncovered significant influences of childhood malnutrition on children's overall health and development. As a result, it is increasingly important to understand how childhood experience of armed conflict intersects with childhood malnutrition in conflict-prone countries like Nigeria. This study examined the association between different measures of childhood experiences of armed conflicts and the nutritional health outcomes of children aged 36–59 months. Methods: We used data from the Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey linked with Uppsala Conflict Data Program Geo-Referenced Events Dataset using geographic identifiers. Multilevel regression models were fitted on a sample of 4226 children aged 36–59 months. Results: The prevalence of stunting, underweight and wasting was 35%, 20% and 3%, respectively. Armed conflicts were mostly recorded in the North-eastern states of Borno (222 episodes) and Adamawa (24 episodes). Exposure to armed conflicts ranged from 0 (no experience of armed conflict) to 3.75 conflicts per month since the child's birth. An increase in the frequency of armed conflicts is associated with increased odds of childhood stunting [AOR = 2.52, 95%CI: 1.96–3.25] and underweight [AOR = 2.33, 95%CI: 1.19–4.59] but not wasting. The intensity of armed conflict was only marginally associated with stunting and underweight but not wasting. Longer conflicts that occurred in the last year were also associated with the odds of stunting [AOR = 1.25, 95%CI: 1.17–1.33] and underweight [AOR = 1.19, 95%CI: 1.11–1.26] but not wasting. Conclusion: Childhood exposure to armed conflict is associated with long-term malnutrition in children aged 36–59 months in Nigeria. Strategies that aim to end childhood malnutrition could target children exposed to armed conflicts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This paper explores the changing experience of giving birth in Cambodia over a 53-year period. During this time, Cambodian people experienced armed conflict, extreme privation, foreign invasion, and civil unrest. Methods: An historical perspective was used to explore the changing place and nature of birth assistance given to Cambodian women between 1950 and 2013. Twenty-four life histories of poor and non-poor Cambodians aged 40–74 were gathered and analysed using a grounded thematic approach. Results: In the early lives of the respondents, almost all births occurred at home and were assisted by Traditional Birth Attendants. In modern times, towards the end of their lives, the respondents' grand-children and great grand-children are almost universally born in institutions in which skilled birth attendants are available. Respondents recognise that this is partly due to the availability of modern health care facilities but also describe the process by which attitudes to institutional and homebirth changed over time. Interviews can also chart the increasing awareness of the risks of homebirth, somewhat influenced by the success of health education messages transmitted by public health authorities. Conclusions: The life histories provide insight into the factors driving the underlying cultural change: a modernising supply side; improving transport and communications infrastructure. In addition, a step-change occurred in the aftermath of the conflict with significant influence of extensive contact with the Vietnamese recognised. Trial registration: None. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Armed conflicts can have severe adverse effects on population health, both directly and indirectly, through the destruction of health care systems. This paper evaluates the causal effect of the Boko Haram insurgency in northeastern Nigeria on the vaccination rate. Methods: By matching children's birth months and the months of armed conflict, we evaluate the effect of armed conflict on the vaccination rate of children. We use two datasets: the Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) for vaccinations and the Uppsala Conflict Data Program (UCDP) Georeferenced Event Dataset (UCDP GED) for armed-conflict events. Results: We find a large negative effect of conflict events on the likelihood of vaccination; if an armed conflict occurs within 10 km from where a child resides, the odds that child receives any vaccination are 47.2% lower. Odds ratio for BCG and DPT1 is 0.55 and 0.52 respectively. We also find that armed conflicts have more impact among the non-educated population than among the educated. Conclusion: Overall, armed conflicts had a devastating effect on the vaccination of young children who were born at the time of these conflicts in northeastern Nigeria. A reduced vaccination rate puts the vulnerable population in affected areas at risk of contracting vaccine-preventable diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]