Effect of a Child-Owned Poultry Intervention Providing Eggs on Nutrition Status and Motor Skills of Young Children in Southern Ethiopia: A Cluster Randomized and Controlled Community Trial

Anteneh Omer (), Dejene Hailu and Susan J. Whiting ()
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Anteneh Omer: School of Human Nutrition and Food Science, Hawassa University, Hawassa P.O. Box 5, Ethiopia
Dejene Hailu: School of Public Health, Hawassa University, Hawassa P.O. Box 5, Ethiopia
Susan J. Whiting: College of Pharmacy and Nutrition, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5E5, Canada

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 22, 1-17

Abstract: Eggs are highly nutritious foods, yet intake by children in Ethiopia is low. We hypothesized that a nutrition-sensitive poultry intervention improves nutritional status of children 6–18 months using a 6-month cluster randomized controlled community trial. Intervention group (IG) children received a gift of two egg-laying hens in a ceremony where children’s ownership of the chickens was declared by community leaders. Parents promised to add more hens and feed the owner-child one-egg-a-day. Trained community workers reinforced egg feeding, environmental sanitation and poultry husbandry. Control group (CG) mothers received usual nutrition education on child feeding. At baseline 29.6% of children were stunted, 19.4% underweight and 8.6% wasted. Egg consumption significantly increased only in IG, at 6 months. The intervention increased weight-for-age and weight-for-height z-scores by 0.38 (95% CI = 0.13–0.63) and 0.43 (95% CI = 0.21–0.64), respectively. Binary logit model indicated IG children were 54% (Odds ratio [OR] = 0.46; 95% CI = 0.26–0.84) and 42% (OR = 0.58; 95% CI = 0.37–0.91) less likely to be underweight and stunted, respectively, compared to CG. IG children attained the milestone of running ( p = 0.022; AHR = 1.43; 95% CI = 1.05–1.95), kicking a ball ( p = 0.027; AHR = 1.39; 95% CI = 1.04–1.87) and throwing a ball ( p = 0.045; AHR = 1.37; 95% CI = 1.01–1.86) earlier than CG. This nutrition-sensitive child-owned poultry approach should be implemented where animal-source food intake is low.

Keywords: egg; growth; one egg a day; poultry; chicken; stunting; wasting; underweight; gross motor skill (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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