Nutritional Assessment of Children Aged 6 to 59 Months Admitted in Two Hospitals in the City of Ziguinchor/Senegal

Author(s): Diouf François Niokhor*, Ba Abou, Ndongo Pascale Njock, Poussy Pape Formose, Sow Amadou, Senghor Seynabou

Introduction: Malnutrition is a major public health concern of developing countries. Very few studies on malnutrition have been conducted in the Southern part of Senegal. The objective of the study was to assess the nutritional status of children aged 6- 59 months in two hospitals of the city of Ziguinchor.

Material and methods: This was a prospective, two-center study assessing the nutritional status of children aged 6 to 59 months for a period of 4 months from December 1, 2020 to March 1, 2021.

Results: 103 children were enrolled at Ziguinchor regional hospital and 34 children at Ziguinchor Peace hospital representing a cohort of 137 children. 21, 2% were wasted, 18, 2% had stunted growth and 17, 5% were underweight. Among those malnourished children, 98,1% of mothers were over 20 years of age, 52,7% had low education level; 38,9% of fathers were unemployed; 79,6% of parents had a poor socio economic status and 90,7% were married. The sex ratio was 1.2.70, 3% of malnourished children aged less than 24 months, 94, 4% were fully vaccinated. Upon admission, 50 % of malnourished children had acute gastroenteritis (33, 3%) and pneumonia (11, 1%). HIV (11, 1%) and congenital heart diseases (7,4%) were the main concomitant pathologies. No death cases were reported.

Conclusion: In the context of public health policies of developing countries, knowledge of best attitudes and practices towards child nutrition and improvement of population’s quality of life must be a priority.