The roots of stunting: understanding child malnutrition in Sédhiou

Stunting is a serious public health issue, as it is the cause of half of all child deaths. It results from repeated undernourishment or poor feeding practices in children, leading to a deficiency in one or more essential nutrients. In 2017 and 2019, the prevalence of chronic malnutrition at the national level was acceptable, at 17% and 19% respectively. However, the Sédhiou region, known for its fertile land and rich and diverse crops, has precarious rates of chronic malnutrition: 21.4% in 2013, 26.6% in 2018 and 28.7% in 2019. The objective of this study is to examine the factors associated with stunting in children under 5 years of age in the Sédhiou region in 2019. This is a descriptive and analytical cross-sectional study. The target population for the study was children under 5 years of age. The sampling method chosen for this survey was two-stage cluster sampling.

Autorentext
Malang Dabo is a doctoral student at the ETHOS/UCAD Doctoral School. He holds a Master II in Public Health from the Institute of Health and Development (ISED), Faculty of Medicine, UCAD, and a Master II in Geography, specialising in Environment, Territory, Population and Health, from Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar, with honours.