Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Oct 4:9:922774.
doi: 10.3389/fnut.2022.922774. eCollection 2022.

Food insecurity and its associated factors among lactating mothers in the Chiro district, Eastern Ethiopia: A community-based cross-sectional study

Selamu Minas  1 , Behailu Hawulte Ayele  2 , Mekonnen Sisay  3 , Biruk Shalmeno Tusa  2 , Kedir Teji Roba  4
Affiliations

Food insecurity and its associated factors among lactating mothers in the Chiro district, Eastern Ethiopia: A community-based cross-sectional study

Selamu Minas et al. Front Nutr. .

Abstract

Introduction: Lactating mothers are extremely vulnerable to both macro and micronutrient deficiencies due to the increased nutritional requirements and high magnitude of food insecurity in low-income countries. However, there are a dearth of studies conducted in sub-Saharan African countries regarding this study area. Thus, this study aimed to assess the magnitude of food insecurity and its associated factors among lactating mothers in the Chiro district, eastern Ethiopia.

Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 446 randomly selected lactating mothers from 1-30 June, 2020. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews using a structured and pre-tested questionnaire. Data were entered using EpiData version 3.1 and exported to STATA version 14.2 for cleaning and analysis. Bi-variable and multivariable binary logistic regression analyses were fitted to check the association between independent variables and food insecurity. The level of statistical significance was declared at a p-value < 0.05.

Results: The magnitude of food insecurity among lactating mothers was 68.8 % (95 % CI: 64.4, 72.9) and 12.1% (95 % CI: 9.4, 15.5) were severely food insecure. Residing in the rural (AOR =2.36, 95% CI:1.21, 4.62), poor wealth indices (AOR =4.68, 95% CI:2.02, 10.8), owning farmland of less than a hectare (AOR =2.35, 95% CI:1.06, 5.19), mothers who had less than three meals a day (AOR =2.70, 95% CI:1.33, 5.46), and who did not have their own income (AOR =2.32, 95% CI:1.36, 3.96) were significantly associated factors with food insecurity among lactating mothers.

Conclusion: Food insecurity is highly prevalent in lactating mothers' households. Therefore, the government and other stakeholders need to take action that addresses factors affecting mothers' food security status through strengthening nutrition-sensitive interventions.

Keywords: Chiro; Ethiopia; associated factors; food insecurity; lactating mothers.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Household food security status of the lactating mother in Chiro district, Eastern Ethiopia, 2020.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Coates J, Swindale A, Bilinsky P. Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) for Measurement of Food Access: Indicator Guide. Washington, DC:Food and Nutrition Technical Assistance Project (2007). 10.1037/e576842013-001 - DOI - PubMed
    1. FAOI, UNICEF, WFP, WHO. The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2020: Transforming Food Systems for Affordable Healthy Diets. Food and Agriculture Organisation (2020).
    1. WFP/CSA . Comprehensive Food Security and Vulnerability Analysis in Ethiopia (2019).
    1. Global Nutrition Report. Shining a Light to Spur Action on Nutrition. Bristol, UK: Development Initiatives. (2018).
    1. Getacher L, Egata G, Aynalem YA, Molla A, Tesfaye A, Abebe H, et al. . Food insecurity and its predictors among lactating mothers in North Shoa Zone, Central Ethiopia: a community based cross-sectional study. BMJ Open. (2020) 10:e040627. 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-040627 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources