Abstract:
Introduction: Chronic malnutrition or stunting contributes substantially to the overall global
burden of disease in children under five years of age. Stunting is associated with decreased
neurodevelopment, irreversible cognitive deficits, limited educational achievement and low
economic productivity as an adult. Low and middle-income countries bear the greatest burden of
stunted children worldwide representing 90% of the total.
In Rwanda, 38% of children under 5 years of age were stunted in 2015. Identifying the
determinants of childhood stunting is essential to the development of effective preventative
strategies.
Purpose: The purpose of this study is to identify the determinants of stunting among children
two-years of age and younger in Rutsiro District, Rwanda.
Methods: A secondary analysis of data collected in a study entitled “Examining the Effects of
Environmental Enteropathy on Stunting in Children under-5- years of age in Rutsiro, Rwanda
(2016) was used. The sample was a subset of 2-year-old children and under enrolled in the
original study. Chi-square test and multiple logistic regressions were used to determine
association between study variables and stunting.
Results: Findings indicated that children were at increased risk of stunting if they lived in
households with severe hunger (OR: .45, p ≤ .001); lower wealth category (OR: 3.4, p ≤ .001);
used water from an unprotected source (OR: 3.7, p ≤ .001); used untreated drinking water (OR:
2.5, p ≤ .001); had unimproved toilette (OR: 19.2, p ≤ .001); practiced unsafe stool disposal (OR:
1.5, p < .001); child did not receiving minimum dietary diversity (OR: 1.50, p ≤ .023); and child
not receiving micronutrients powder (OR: 1.9, p ≤ .001).
v
Conclusion: Stunting among children 2-years of age and under is a complex public health
problem in Rutsiro District, Rwanda. Improvement in sanitation, hygiene, complimentary
feeding and nutritional supplements are needed to decrease stunting and therefore morbidity and
mortality in children.
