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. 2022 Dec;24(6):1387-1397.
doi: 10.1007/s10903-022-01354-4. Epub 2022 Mar 28.

Nutrition Status of Refugee and Host-Country Children: Negotiating for Equal Distribution of Relief Food During Emergencies in Uganda

Joseph Mandre  1 , Dasel Wambua Mulwa Kaindi  2 , Wambui Kogi-Makau  2
Affiliations

Nutrition Status of Refugee and Host-Country Children: Negotiating for Equal Distribution of Relief Food During Emergencies in Uganda

Joseph Mandre et al. J Immigr Minor Health. 2022 Dec.

Abstract

About 25.4 million people worldwide are living as refugees of whom 1.36 million are in Uganda. The refugees in this study were from South Sudan. The objective of this study was to determine the nutrition status of the refugee children and elucidate the factors that contribute to poor nutrition status among the host. The study used comparative analytical cross-sectional design on 340 children aged 6-59 months. The overall prevalence of global acute malnutrition was 3.9%, underweight 14.1%, and stunting 24.7%. Five factors contributed to poor nutrition status; household size (ORa 1.34, 1.92), illness in wasted, stunted and underweight (ORa 1.47, 1.49, 1.97) children, being a host in relation to wasting and stunting (ORa 1.81, 1.36) and deworming (ORa 3.2, 2.13). Although the host had good nutrient intake, the refugee children had better nutrition status. Therefore, the Uganda government should formulate a policy that allows the host to benefit equally from food relief during emergencies.

Keywords: Bidi Bidi refugee settlement; Host population; Nutrition status; Uganda; Under-fives.

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