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Globally, diarrhoea is the third leading cause of death for under five-children. Women's empowerment can significantly reduce under-five mortality due to diarrhoea. This study investigated the association between women's empowerment and childhood diarrhoea in Benin using data from the 2017/18 Benin Demographic and Health Survey. A total of 7979 currently married women were included in the study. A logistic regression model was used to control for possible confounders. The prevalence of diarrhoea among children under five years of age was 13.6%. About 36.3% of the currently married women decided either alone or together with their husband on their own health, purchase of large household items and visiting family/relatives. Close to 65.4% of currently married women disagreed with all five reasons to justify wife-beating. The children of mothers who had decision-making power were less likely to have diarrhoea (aOR = 0.74, 95% CI: 0.57–0.96) than the children of mothers who had no decision-making power. Moreover, the children of mothers who disagreed with all five reasons to justify wife-beating (aOR = 0.79, 95% CI: 0.65–0.96) were less likely to have diarrhoea than the children of mothers who accepted wife-beating as a part of life. Women's age, educational level, wealth index and region were associated with childhood diarrhoea in Benin. The role of women's empowerment, as determined by decision-making power and wife-beating attitude, was found to be significantly associated with the risk of childhood diarrhoea in Benin, after adjusting for other variables. Therefore, it is essential for policymakers in Benin to reinforce strategies and interventions focusing on women's empowerment to avert childhood mortality caused by diarrhoea. This includes improving household economic status, women's education and decision-making power and enhancing awareness of women's human and democratic rights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background The decrease in the magnitude of stunting over the past 20 years has been slow in Ethiopia. To date, in Ethiopia, the trends in and extent of inequality in stunting have not been investigated using methods suitably developed for disparity studies. This paper investigated both the extent and overtime dynamics of stunting inequality in Ethiopia over the last 17 years. Methods Using the World Health Organization's Health Equity Assessment Toolkit software, data from the Ethiopia Demographic and Health surveys (EDHS) were analyzed between 2000 and 2016. The inequality analysis consisted of disaggregated rates of stunting using five equity stratifiers (economic status, education, residence, region and sex) and four summary measures (Difference, Population Attributable risk, Ratio and Absolute Concentration Index). A 95% uncertainty interval was constructed around point estimates to measure statistical significance. Results The study showed that both absolute and relative inequalities in stunting exist in all the studied years in Ethiopia. The inequality disfavors children of mothers who are poor, uneducated and living in rural areas and specific regions such as Amhara. The pro-rich (R = 1.2; 1.1, 1.3 in 2000 to R = 1.7; 1.4, 2 in 2016) and pro-educated (R = 1.6; 95%UI = 1.3, 1.9 in 2000 and R = 2.3; 95%UI = 1.5, 3 in 2011) inequalities slightly increased with time. Male children bear a disproportionately higher burden of stunting, and the disparity increased between the first and the last time points (PAR = −1.5 95%UI = −2.5, −0.6 in 2000 and PAR = −2.9 95%UI = −3.9, −1.9) based on complex measures but remained constant with simple measures (R = 1; 95%UI = 0.9, 1.1 in 2000 and R = 1.1 95%UI = 1, 1.2 in 2016). Similarly, both the sub-national regional and residence-related stunting disparities generally widened over time according to some of the inequality measures. Conclusions Stunting appeared to be highly prevalent among certain sub-groups (i.e. poor, uneducated and living in rural regions). The subpopulations experiencing excessively high stunting prevalence should be the focus of policy makers' attention as they work to achieve the WHO 40% reduction in stunting target by 2025 and the UN Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development Goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Evidence suggests that a better understanding of determinants of antenatal care (ANC) utilization is crucial to reducing maternal and child deaths. Little is known about the utilization of ANC services in Guinea.Objective: The aim of this study was to explore factors determining utilization of skilled ANC in Guinea.Methods: This study focused on a sample of 7812 ever married women. Using multivariate logistic regression, factors associated with the utilization of ANC were identified. The output of the multivariate logistic regression was presented using adjusted odds ratio and the corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI).Results: Several factors had significant association with utilization of skilled ANC service in Guinea: having decision-making power (2.21, 95% CI: 1.63, 3.00), employment status (1.86, 95% CI: 1.39, 2.48), media exposure (1.60, 95% CI: 1.26, 2.02), maternal education (2.68, 95% CI: 1.36, 5.28), husband/partner education status (1.66, 95% CI: 1.08, 2.55), household economic status (2.19, 95% CI: 1.40, 3.44), place of residence (0.29, 95% CI: 0.16, 0.50) and ethnicity (0.40, 95% CI: 0.23, 0.69).Conclusions: These findings suggest a variety of socio-demographic and economic factors as well as media exposure are associated with women's use of ANC. Policymakers should implement appropriate measures to address the existing variations and gaps in ANC services utilization among different subgroups of women in Guinea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]