PDF, 1536K - Measure DHS

Table 11.7 Iodized salt
Percent distribution of households by whether salt was tested for iodine content and by level of iodine
content of salt, according to background characteristics, Ethiopia 2000
________________________________________________________________________________________
Among those tested,
Among all households percentage with:
____________________ __________________
Percentage
Number
Background not Percentage 25 ppm of all
characteristic tested tested 0 ppm or more Total households
________________________________________________________________________________________
Residence
Urban
5.0 95.0 59.5 40.5 100.0 2,280
Rural
1.2 98.8 73.8 26.2 100.0 11,792
Region
Tigray
Affar
Amhara
Oromiya
Somali
Benishangul-Gumuz
SNNP
Gambela
Harari
Addis Ababa
Dire Dawa
1.3 98.7 87.8 12.2 100.0 993
3.3 96.7 73.5 26.5 100.0 163
1.1 98.9 72.0 28.0 100.0 3,930
1.4 98.6 63.2 36.8 100.0 5,078
5.7 94.3 83.7 16.3 100.0 171
3.0 97.0 55.9 44.1 100.0 151
3.1 96.9 81.8 18.2 100.0 2,985
8.3 91.7 51.3 48.7 100.0 38
5.9 94.1 72.4 27.6 100.0 38
3.7 96.3 62.4 37.6 100.0 461
4.9 95.1 66.7 33.3 100.0 66
Total
1.8 98.2 71.6 28.4 100.0 14,072
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Note: Salt that contains at least 15 ppm is considered to be adequately iodized. Color coding in the salttesting
kits used in Ethiopia ranged from 0 ppm to 100 ppm at a 25 ppm interval.
ppm = Parts per million
11.7 MICRONUTRIENT INTAKE
A serious contributor to childhood morbidity and mortality is micronutrient deficiency. Children
can receive micronutrients from foods, food fortification, and direct supplementation. In addition to
the types of food given to children, mothers in the Ethiopia DHS were asked whether their young
children had received a vitamin A capsule in the six months before the survey. Table 11.8 shows that
38 percent of Ethiopian children under five years of age consumed vitamin A through food in the seven
days preceding the survey. Furthermore, more than one in two children (56 percent) received vitamin
A capsules in the six months before the survey. 1 Twenty-eight percent of children also live in households
using adequately iodized salt. Older children are much more likely to receive vitamin A supplements
than younger children. There is no difference in vitamin A supplementation by gender and no clear
pattern by birth order. Vitamin A supplementation is also low among breastfeeding children. The urbanrural
difference in vitamin A intake is marked, with rural children much less likely to receive vitamin A
capsules or foods rich in vitamin A. Children residing in the Affar Region are also least exposed to
vitamin A supplements. Mother’s education impacts micronutrient intake positively, with 76 percent of
children of highly educated mothers, for example, having received vitamin A capsules in the six months
before the survey, compared with slightly more than one in two children of mothers with no education.
1 Vitamin A is generally not given to children under six months of age, since most children in this age group
are breastfed and would receive vitamin A through breast milk. However, some programs do not make this
distinction to ensure coverage among nonbreastfeeding children.
Infant Feeding and Childhood and Maternal Nutrition * 149