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Background: Understanding the contribution of intimate partner violence (IPV) to childhood health outcomes (eg, morbidity and mortality) is crucial for improving child survival in sub-Saharan Africa. This comprehensive study aimed to explore the associations between maternal exposure to physical, sexual, or emotional violence and adverse childhood health outcomes in sub-Saharan Africa., Methods: We analysed Demographic Health Survey datasets from 37 sub-Saharan African countries from 2011 to 2022. A generalised linear mixed model was used to examine the associations between maternal physical violence, sexual violence, or emotional violence, and early childhood health outcomes (eg, acute respiratory infection, diarrhoea, undernutrition, and child mortality). A random effects meta-analysis was used to calculate pooled odds ratios (ORs) for adverse childhood health outcomes. The odds of undernutrition and mortality were 55% and 58% higher among children younger than 5 years born to mothers who were exposed to physical and sexual violence, respectively., Findings: 238 060 children younger than 5 years were included. Children whose mothers experienced physical violence (adjusted OR 1·33, 95% CI 1·29-1·42), sexual violence (1·47, 1·34-1·62), emotional violence (1·39, 1·32-1·47), or a combination of emotional and sexual violence (1·64, 1·20-2·22), or a combination of all the three forms of violence (1·88, 1·62-2·18) were associated with an increased odds of developing diarrhoeal disease. Similarly, children whose mothers experienced physical violence (1·43, 1·28-1·59), sexual violence (1·47, 1·34-1·62), emotional violence (1·39, 1·32-1·47), or a combination of emotional and sexual violence (1·48, 1·16-1·89), or a combination of all three forms of violence (1·66, 1·47-1·88) were positively associated with symptoms of acute respiratory infection., Interpretation: We found a strong link between maternal exposure to IPV and health outcomes for children younger than 5 years in sub-Saharan Africa, with minor variations across countries. To address childhood morbidity and mortality attributed to IPV, interventions need to be tailored for specific countries. Burkina Faso, Burundi, Chad, Comoros, Gabon, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South Africa, and Uganda should be priority nations., Funding: None., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests We declare no competing interests., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Background: Inadequate intake of micronutrients in lactating women was prevalent worldwide. In particular, to our knowledge, there has been little report concerning Ethiopian lactating women regarding their micronutrient intake. Our objective was to assess micronutrient intake inadequacy and its associated factors among lactating women in Bahir Dar city, Northwest Ethiopia, 2021., Methods: Community-based cross-sectional study was conducted from February 15 to March 05, 2021. Four hundred thirteen respondents were selected through systematic random sampling. Data were collected by interviewer-administered semi-structured questionnaire and a single multiphasic 24 hours dietary recall was used to assess dietary assessment. Data entry and analysis were carried out using EpiData and SPSS respectively. The ESHA food processor, Ethiopian food composition table, and world food composition table have used the calculation of nutrient values of the selected micronutrient. The nutrient intakes were assessed by Nutrient Adequacy Ratio (NAR) and Mean Adequacy Ratio (MAR). Multivariable binary logistic regression analysis was done to identify the factors of overall micronutrient intake inadequacy., Result: The overall prevalence of micronutrient intake inadequacy across 12 nutrients was 39.9% [95% CI (34.9, 45.0)]. The inadequate intake of vitamin A was 98.2%. Similarly, the inadequate intake of B vitamins ranges from 13.4% to 68.5%. The insufficient intakes of calcium, iron, and zinc were 70.9%, 0%, and 4.7%, respectively. Around 36 and 91.6% of the respondents had inadequate intake of selenium and sodium, respectively. On multivariable logistic regression analysis; Being divorced was 2.7 times more likely to have overall micronutrient intake inadequacy than being married [AOR = 2.71, 95% CI (1.01, 7.33)]. The odds of overall micronutrient intake inadequacy were 2.6 higher in merchants than in housewives [AOR = 2.63, 95% CI (1.40, 4.93)]. Lactating women who had poor nutritional knowledge were 2.7 times more likely to have overall micronutrient intake inadequacy than those who had good nutritional knowledge [AOR = 2.71, 95% CI (1.47, 4.99)]., Conclusion and Recommendation: Overall, the micronutrient intake in lactating women was lower than the recommended levels. Therefore; educating lactating women about appropriate dietary intake is essential., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Background: Undernutrition contributes to the death of around 3 million children and threatens the futures of hundreds of millions, undermining healthy development and the strength of their societies by preventing children from achieving their full potential. Orphans are at greater risk of undernutrition because they are more likely to be extremely poor and receive less medical and social care. However, there is little information about the prevalence of undernutrition and associated factors among under-five orphan children., Objective: This study aimed to assess undernutrition and associated factors among under-five orphan children in orphanages in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia., Methods: An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted in Addis Ababa from February 28 to March 28, 2020. A simple random sampling technique was employed to recruit a total of 275 orphan children. An interviewer-administered questionnaire and anthropometric measurements were used to collect data. Data were entered using EpiData version 3.1 and analysis was done by WHO Anthro version 3.2.2 and SPSS version 23. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to identify determinants of undernutrition at a p value of less than 0.05 with an adjusted odds ratio of 95% confidence interval., Results: The prevalence of wasting, stunting, and underweight were 11.1%, 45.8%, and 25.5%, respectively. Presence of illness (AOR = 2.23; 95% CI: 1.41, 12.73), children who received less than three meals per day (AOR = 2.11; 95% CI: 1.58, 7.71), and children who were not vaccinated (AOR = 2.86; 95% CI: 2.07, 11.61) were significantly associated with stunting. Children who were not vaccinated (AOR = 2.04; 95% CI: 1.29, 9.71) and who had inadequate dietary diversity scores (AOR = 1.32, 95% CI: 1.16, 12.65) were significantly associated with wasting and underweight, respectively., Conclusion: The prevalence of undernutrition was very high compared to national data. Health status, meal frequency, and vaccination status were associated factors of stunting. Vaccination status and dietary diversity score were associated factors with wasting and underweight, respectively. Therefore, improving meal frequency, dietary diversity, and early treatment during childhood illness are important to reduce orphan undernutrition., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests., (Copyright © 2021 Selam Shegaw Sewnet et al.)

Background: Anemia among severely malnourished children is a double burden that could make the treatment outcome of severe acute malnutrition (SAM) more unfavorable. The burden and the factors are, however, uncovered among children in the Amhara region. Therefore, the study was aimed at determining the prevalence of anemia and identifying contributing factors in severely malnourished children aged between 0 and 59 months admitted to the treatment centers of the Amhara region referral hospitals., Methods: A facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted that included 1,301 infants and children, who developed SAM and were admitted to the three referral hospitals of the Amhara region. Data were extracted using a data extraction checklist. The binary logistic regression analysis was employed to show an association between the dependent and independent variables. Multicollinearity was assessed using the variance inflation factor (VIF) and no problem was detected (overall VIF = 1.67). The presence of association was declared based on the p -value (≤0.05), and the adjusted odds ratio with its respective 95% confidence interval was used to report the direction, as well as the strength of association., Results: About 41.43% (95% CI: 38.78%-44.13%) of severely malnourished infants and children have developed anemia, of which around half (47%) of them were under six months old. Rural residence (AOR = 1.56; 95% CI: 1.14-2.12) and HIV infection (AOR = 2.00; 95% CI: 1.04-3.86) were significantly associated with higher odds of anemia. Furthermore, being exclusively breastfed (AOR = 0.57; 95% CI 0.39-0.83) remarkably reduced the likelihood of anemia., Conclusions: This data confirms that anemia among severely malnourished infants and children is a public health problem in the Amhara region. Infants younger than six months were at a higher risk of anemia. Being a rural resident and contracting HIV infection have elevated the occurrence of anemia, whereas being exclusively breastfed decreased the risk. Therefore, the study gives an insight to policymakers and planners to strengthen the existing exclusive breastfeeding practice. Strategies being practiced to prevent HIV transmission and early detection, as well as treatment, should also be strengthened. Furthermore, mothers/caretakers of infants and children residing in the rural areas deserve special attention through delivering nutrition education., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Wubet Worku Takele et al.)

Background: Glycemic control is the level of glucose in diabetes patient. Evidence regarding glycemic control is scarce in resource-limited settings, and this study was conducted to generate information regarding the prevalence and predictors of glycemic control among diabetes mellitus patients attending their care from the referral hospitals of the Amhara region, Ethiopia., Methods: A cross-sectional study design was implemented. A simple random sampling technique was used. Data were collected from March 2018 to January 2020. The data were collected using interviews, chart review, and blood samples. Hemoglobin A1c was measured using high-performance liquid chromatography. Data were entered into Epi-info software and analyzed by SPSS software. Descriptive statistics were used to estimate the prevalence of glycemic control; linear regression was used to identify the predictors of HbA1c., Results: A total of 2554 diabetes patients were included giving for the response rate of 95.83%. The mean age of the study participants was 54.08 years [SD (standard deviation) ± 8.38 years]. The mean HbA1c of the study participants was 7.31% [SD ± 0.94%]. Glycemic control was poor in 55.32% [95% CI: 53.4%-57.25%] of diabetes patients. The glycemic control of diabetes patients was determined by BMI ( β 0.1; [95% CI: 0.09-0.1]), type 2 diabetes ( β -0.14; [95% CI: -0.11-0.16]), age ( β 0.22; [95% CI: 0.02-0.024]), duration of the disease ( β 0.04; [95% CI: 0.037-0.042]), the presence of hypertension ( β 0.12; [95% CI:0.09-0.16]), regular physical exercise ( β -0.06; [95% CI: -0.03-0.09]), medication adherence ( β -0.16; [95% CI: -0.14-0.18]), and male ( β 0.34; [95% CI: 0.31-.037])., Conclusion: The glycemic control of diabetes patients was poor, and it needs the attention of decision-makers., Competing Interests: The authors declares that they have no competing interests., (Copyright © 2021 Berhanu Elfu Feleke et al.)

Background: Globally, Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) has been reduced by only 11% over the past 20 years and continues to be a significant cause of morbidity and mortality. So far, in Sub-Saharan Africa, several primary studies have been conducted on recovery rate and determinants of recovery from SAM in under-five children. However, comprehensive reviews that would have a shred of strong evidence for designing interventions are lacking. So, this review and meta-analysis was conducted to bridge this gap., Methods: A systematic review of observational studies published in the years between 1/1/2000 to 12/31/2018 was conducted following the Meta-analysis of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (MOOSE) statement. Two reviewers have been searched and extracted data from CINAHL (EBSCO), MEDLINE (via Ovid), Emcare, PubMed databases, and Google scholar. Articles' quality was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale by two independent reviewers, and only studies with fair to good quality were included in the final analysis. The review presented the pooled recovery rate from SAM and an odds ratio of risk factors affecting recovery rate after checking for heterogeneity and publication bias. The review has been registered in PROSPERO with protocol number CRD42019122085., Result: Children with SAM from 54 primary studies (n = 140,148) were included. A pooled rate of recovery was 71.2% (95% CI: 68.5-73.8; I2 = 98.9%). Children who received routine medication (Pooled Odds ratio (POR):1.85;95% CI: 1.49-2.29; I2 = 0.0%), older age (POR: 1.99;95% CI: 1.29-3.08; I2 = 80.6%), and absence of co-morbidity (POR:3.2;95% CI: 2.15-4.76; I2 = 78.7%) had better odds of recovery. This systematic review and meta-analysis suggestes HIV infected children had lower recovery rate from SAM (POR; 0.19; 95% CI: 0.09-0.39; I2 = 42.9%) compared to those non-infected., Conclusion: The meta-analysis deciphers that the pooled recovery rate was below the SPHERE standard, and further works would be needed to improve the recovery rate. So, factors that were identified might help to revise the plan set by the countries, and further research might be required to explore health fascilities fidelity to the WHO SAM management protocol., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Objectives: This study aimed to determine the time to recovery from severe acute malnutrition (SAM) and its predictors in selected public health institutions in Amhara Regional State, Ethiopia., Design: An institution-based retrospective follow-up study was conducted using data extracted from 1690 patient cards from September 2012 to November 2016., Setting: Selected government health institutions in the Amhara region, Ethiopia., Participants: Children treated in therapeutic feeding units for SAM were included., Outcome Measures: Time to recovery from SAM., Results: One thousand and fifty children have recovered from SAM, 62.13% (95% CI 59.8% to 64.5%). The median time to recovery was 16 days (IQR=11-28). Female gender (adjusted HR (AHR)=0.81, 95% CI 0.67 to 0.98), oedematous malnutrition (AHR=0.74 95% CI 0.59 to 0.93), pneumonia (AHR=0.66, 95% CI 0.53 to 0.83), tuberculosis (AHR=0.53, 95% CI 0.36 to 0.77), HIV/AIDS (AHR=0.47, 95% CI 0.28 to 0.79), anaemia (AHR=0.73, 95% CI 0.60 to 0.89) and receiving vitamin A (AHR=1.43, 95% CI 1.12 to 1.82) were notably associated with time to recovery., Conclusions: The time to recovery in this study was acceptable but the proportion of recovery was far below the minimum standard. Special emphasis should be given to the prevention and treatment of comorbidities besides the therapeutic feeding. Supplementing vitamin A would also help to improve the recovery rate., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2020. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Since 2000, many countries have achieved considerable success in improving child survival, but localized progress remains unclear. To inform efforts towards United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 3.2-to end preventable child deaths by 2030-we need consistently estimated data at the subnational level regarding child mortality rates and trends. Here we quantified, for the period 2000-2017, the subnational variation in mortality rates and number of deaths of neonates, infants and children under 5 years of age within 99 low- and middle-income countries using a geostatistical survival model. We estimated that 32% of children under 5 in these countries lived in districts that had attained rates of 25 or fewer child deaths per 1,000 live births by 2017, and that 58% of child deaths between 2000 and 2017 in these countries could have been averted in the absence of geographical inequality. This study enables the identification of high-mortality clusters, patterns of progress and geographical inequalities to inform appropriate investments and implementations that will help to improve the health of all populations.

Background: Malnutrition in pregnancy remains unacceptably high across all regions of Africa though promising progresses have been made globally. Primary studies might not be sufficient to portrait a comprehensive picture of malnutrition during pregnancy and its main risk factors. Therefore, we intended to review the burden of malnutrition, for this specific review implies to protein energy malnutrition, during pregnancy in Africa to present its magnitude and determinant factors., Methods: We did a systematic review of observational studies published from January 1/2008 to January 31/2018. The CINAHL(EBSCO), MEDLINE (via Ovid), Emcare, PubMed databases and Google scholar were searched. Articles quality was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale and studies with fair to good quality were included. We pooled malnutrition prevalence and an odds ratio estimates for risk factors after checking for heterogeneity and publication bias. This review has been registered in Prospero with a protocol number CRD42018114949., Result: 23 studies involving 20,672 pregnant women were included. Using a random effect model, the overall pooled prevalence of malnutrition among pregnant women in Africa was 23.5% (95%CI: 17.72-29.32; I2 = 98.5%). Based on the current review pooled odds ratio finding; rural residency (POR = 2.6%; 95%CI: 1.48-4.65; I2 = 0%), low educational status of partners (POR = 1.7%; 95%CI: 1.19-2.53; I2 = 54.8%), multiple pregnancy (POR = 2.15%; 95%CI: 1.27-3.64; I2 = 0%) and poor nutritional indicators (POR = 2.03%; 95%CI: 1.72-2.4, I2 = 0%) were positively determine maternal malnutrition. On contrary, better household economic status (POR = 0.47%; 95%CI: 0.36-0.62; I2 = 24.2%) negatively determine maternal malnutrition., Conclusion: A significant number of the pregnant population in Africa are suffering of malnutrition, above 10% of the standard acceptable malnutrition rate. Thus, efforts should be renewed to ensure a proper and widespread implementation of programs that would address issues identified in the current review to reduce the burden of malnutrition., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Objectives: This study aimed to determine mortality rate, time to death and factors affecting the time to death among children with severe acute malnutrition admitted to therapeutic feeding unit of Felege Hiwot Referral Hospital, Bahirdar., Result: A total of 401 children with severe acute malnutrition who were admitted to therapeutic feeding units from September 2012 to January 2016 were included in the study. The incidence of death rate was 8.47% (95% CI 6.11%, 11.65%). The median time to death was 3 days (Inter Quartile Range of 4 days). Children's of age > 24 months (AHR = 0.27; 95% CI 0.1, 0.73), fully vaccinated status (AHR = 0.16; 95% CI 0.07, 0.36), HIV infection (AHR = 3.82; 95% CI 1.3, 11.15) and congestive heart failure (AHR = 6.98; 95% CI 2.42, 20.09) were significant predictors of mortality among children admitted for severe acute malnutrition.

Background: Regardless of significant gains and signs of progress in the last decades, maternal undernutrition remains a major public health concern in Ethiopia. Supporting the progress of interventions being taken in the country with evidence might be important to keep the sustainability of the government effort. We aimed at determining the extent of undernutrition and its associated factors among pregnant mothers in Gondar town, Northwest Ethiopia., Method: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted by including 940 selected pregnant mothers through a cluster sampling. A face-to-face interview was administered to pregnant mothers at a household level. We collected data using an Online Data collection kit (ODK) and the collected data was directly downloaded from the Google Cloud platform and finally imported to Stata 14 for further analysis. A multivariable logistic regression model was fitted to identify factors associated with undernutrition. A crude and adjusted odds ratio with their 95% confidence interval was calculated to declare the association and its significance. Model fitness was assured through the Hosmer and Lemeshow goodness of fit test and model classification accuracy., Result: 14.4% (95%CI: 12.3-16.7) of pregnant mothers were undernourished. After adjusting for the main covariates; as the age of the pregnant mothers increases the odds of being undernourished decreases by 10% (AOR: 0.90; 95%CI: 0.87-0.95) and having a poor marital condition (AOR: 2.18; 95%CI: 1.03-4.59) increased the odds of undernutrition. The risk of undernutrition was also decreased by 43% among those pregnant mothers who consumed coffee sometimes (AOR: 0.57; 95%CI: 0.36-0.89) as compared to daily consumers., Conclusion: A significant proportion of pregnant mother were undernourished. Integration of nutritional interventions with maternity health services would be highly important to improve the nutritional status of the mothers. It is also important to counsel pregnant mothers about a consequence of frequent coffee drinking during their pregnancy., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Background: Despite numerous advances made in improving child health and the clinical management protocols for treating severe acute malnutrition at treatment centers, evidences concerning the treatment outcomes are scarce. Therefore, this study was conducted to assess the recovery rate and associated factors of severely acute malnourished children of age 6 to 59 months admitted to inpatient therapeutic feeding unit at Felege Hiwot Referral Hospital., Methods: We conducted a hospital-based cross-sectional study including 401 severely malnourished children who were admitted from September 2012 to January 2016. Bivariable and a Multivariable logistic regression model were fitted to identify factors associated with recovery rate. Adjusted Odds ratio with its 95% CI was reported and P-value less than 0.05 was considered as significant., Results: Fifty eight percent (58.4%) (95%CI: 53.1-64.1) of admitted children were recovered with a mean recovery time of 18 (±6.3) days. Being female, children who were fully and partially vaccinated, who had better MUAC measurement, who stayed longer in the hospital, and children who took routine vitamin-A supplementation had better recovery rate. However, children who had co-morbidity at admission, had human immune virus (HIV) and Tuberculosis (TB) infection, and who had edema were less likely to recover., Interpretation: Recovery rate was low as compared to international SPHERE cutoff points (> 75% recovery rate). Interventions that could address the outlined factors would be helpful to improve treatment recovery rate of admitted children., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.