Micronutrient deficiencies in Ethiopia and their inter-relationships

A nationwide study on the prevalence of xerophthalmia was carried out in 6,636 children aged 6 months to 6 years in all the Regions of Ethiopia except Eritrea and Tigrai which were excluded for security reasons. Bitot's spots were observed in 1.0% of all children with higher prevalence in the pastoral (1.6%) and cropping (1.1%) agro-ecological zones than in the cash- crop (0.4%) and ensete ('false banana', Ensete ventricosum (Welw.) Cheesman) (0.0%) zones. Conjunctival xerosis and Bitot's spots were twice as common in boys than in girls and this was seen in all age groups. One case of corneal xerosis and two cases of corneal scar (0.03%) were also found. Serum retinol levels were deficient (