An assessment of the causes of malnutrition in Ethiopia: A ...

from poor exposure of children to light is mainly due to the effect it has on child health,
development, and survival in general. There is ample evidence demonstrating increased rates
of infections in rachitic children (Baser & Cakmakci 1994; Getaneh et al. 1998). In a casecontrol
study done in Addis Ababa it was found that the odds of dying in rachitic patients was
five times higher than that of controls (Lulseged 1990).
Paradoxically, rickets is widely prevalent in many tropical and subtropical regions
including Ethiopia, despite abundant sunshine (Salimpour 1975; Aust-Kettis et al. 1965;
Reddy & Lamb 1991). A review of pediatric admissions in Jimma hospital indicated that
about 7 percent of children under 5 years of age were diagnosed to have rickets (Mojab 2002).
A more recent community based study in Jimma town showed rickets prevalence of 4 percent
in randomly selected children between 6-59 months of age (Getaneh et al. 1998).
Keeping children indoors due to fear that they will catch cold, fear of evil eyes, and
the tradition of wrapping children in swaddling clothes contribute to lack of adequate sunlight
exposure. The incidence of rickets is particularly high in slum children who live in crowded
houses almost devoid of sunlight (Reddy & Lamb 1991). Exposing children to ultraviolet
light does not cost anything. The presence of rickets among Ethiopian children where there
are 12 months of sunshine is a reflection of the low level of caring practices for children at the
household level.
4.3.3. General education attainment and specific nutrition knowledge of
caregiver
4.3.3.1. Educational attainment of the caregiver
Education is one of the most important resources that enable women to
provide appropriate care for their children (Armar-Klemesu et al. 2000). Women who
receive even a minimal education are generally more aware than those who have no
education of how to utilize available resources for the improvement of their own
nutritional status and that of their families. Educating women may enable them to
make independent decisions within the household and to have greater access to
household resources that are important to nutritional status. In Ethiopia, children
whose mothers have some primary education were 1.9 times more likely to be stunted
compared to children whose mothers had a secondary or higher education
Figure 4.16: Contributions of underlying determinants to reductions in child
underweight, 1970-95, 16 developing countries.
Food availability,
26%
Healthy
environment,
19%
Women's
relative
status, 12%
Women's
education,
43%
Source: Smith & Haddad 2000
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