Despite the efforts to reduce iron deficiency during pregnancy, information on the coverage and factors associated with utilization of iron supplements is lacking. The study is intended to assess the coverage, compliance and factors associated with the use of prenatal iron supplements in eight rural districts of Ethiopia.

Dietary diversity (DD) is useful indicator of dietary quality and nutrient adequacy. In developing countries limited evidence is available regarding predictors of DD during the critical complementary feeding period. The purpose of the study is to assess DD and predictors among children 6–23 months of age in rural Gorche district, Southern Ethiopia. A community based cross-sectional study was conducted among 417 children aged 6–23 months in Gorche district. The children were selected using a stratified two-stage cluster sampling technique. DD in the preceding day of the survey was assessed using the standard 7-food group score without imposing a minimum intake restriction. Factors associated with DD were identified by modeling dietary diversity score (DDS) using linear regression analysis. Only 10.6% (95% CI: 7.6–13.6) of the children had the minimum recommended DD (≥4 food groups). In children born to literate fathers, the DD was increased by 0.26 as compared to their counterparts (p = 0.026). Children from households that grow vegetables and own livestock, the DDS was significantly increased by 0.32 (p = 0.032) and 0.51 (p = 0.001). As the age of the child increases by a month, the DD also increased by 0.04 (p = 0.001). Mothers that received Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) education during their post-natal care, the DDS was increased by 0.21 (p = 0.037). Unit increase in maternal knowledge on IYCF was associated with 0.41 rise in DDS (p = 0.001). Other factors that showed positive association were: mother’s participation in cooking demonstration, exposure to IYCF information on the mass media and husband involvement in IYCF. Nutrition education, promotion of husbands’ involvement in IYCF and implementation of nutrition sensitive agriculture can significantly enhance DD of children.

In many developing countries there is paucity of evidence regarding the epidemiology of road traffic accidents (RTAs). The study determines the rates of injuries and fatalities associated with RTAs in Ethiopia based on the data of a recent national survey. The study is based on the secondary data of the Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey conducted in 2016. The survey collected information about occurrence injuries and accidents including RTAs in the past 12 months among 75,271 members of 16,650 households. Households were selected from nine regions and two city administrations of Ethiopia using stratified cluster sampling procedure. Of the 75,271 household members enumerated, 123 encountered RTAs in the reference period and rate of RTA-related injury was 163 (95% confidence interval (CI): 136–195) per 100,000 population. Of the 123 causalities, 28 were fatal, making the fatality rate 37 (95% CI: 25–54) per 100,000 population. The RTA-related injuries and fatalities per 100,000 motor vehicles were estimated as 21,681 (95% CI: 18,090–25,938) and 4,922 (95% CI: 3325–7183), respectively. Next to accidental falls, RTAs were the second most common form of accidents and injuries accounting for 22.8% of all such incidents. RTAs contributed to 43.8% of all fatalities secondary to accidents and injuries. Among RTA causalities, 21.9% were drivers, 35.0% were passenger vehicle occupants and 36.0% were vulnerable road users including: motorcyclists (21.0%), pedestrians (12.1%) and cyclists (2.9%). Approximately half (47.1%) of the causalities were between 15–29 years of age and 15.3% were either minors younger than 15 years or seniors older than 64 years of age. Nearly two-thirds (65.0%) of the victims were males. RTA-related causalities are extremely high in Ethiopia. Male young adults and vulnerable road users are at increased risk of RTAs. There is a urgent need for bringing road safety to the country's public health agenda.

School Feeding Program (SFP) is a targeted safety net program designed to provide educational and health benefits to vulnerable children. However, limited evidence exists regarding the effect of the intervention on the nutritional status and school attendance of children. The study is aimed at examining the effects of SFP on dietary diversity, nutritional status and class attendance of school children in Boricha district, Southern Ethiopia. The study was conducted based on a representative data collected from 290 students drawn from the district. A school-based comparative cross-sectional study was conducted on school children aged 10–14 years. Data were collected using structured pretested questionnaire. The effects of SFP on dietary diversity score (DDS), class attendance rate, body-mass-index for age (BAZ) and height-for-age (HAZ) Z-scores were assessed using multivariable linear regression model. The finding showed significantly higher mean (±SD) of DDS in SFP beneficiaries (5.8 ± 1.1) than the non-beneficiaries (3.5 ± 0.7) (P < 0.001). BAZ and HAZ of the beneficiaries were also higher than their counterparts, which were (0.07 ± 0.93), (− 0.50 ± 0.86) and (− 1.45 ± 1.38), (− 2.17 ± 1.15) respectively (P < 0.001). The mean (±SD) days of absence from school for non-beneficiaries (2.6 ± 1.6) was significantly higher than that of the beneficiaries (1.3 ± 1.7) (P < 0.05). Given the positive effects of the program in improving the DDS, nutritional status, and class attendance of school children, we strongly recommend scaling up the program to other food insecure areas.

The causes of acute malnutrition—or “wasting”—are complex, and a better understanding of the underlying drivers is necessary in order to design effective interventions. Water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) practices may play a fundamental role in acute malnutrition, but more research is needed to confirm this relationship. We investigated the association between WASH practices and acute malnutrition among children 6 to 59 months of age in rural Ethiopia, making use of the Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey. Descriptive statistics were used to assess the WASH status of all rural children. Bivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to assess associations between nutritional status and WASH. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to adjust for confounders. A total of 7,209 children were included in the analysis, of which 867 (12.0%) were acutely malnourished. Proper toilet facilities (AOR = 0.63, 95% CI [0.46, 0.86]) and a water source close to home (AOR = 0.71, 95% CI [0.61, 0.83]) were associated with a lower prevalence of wasting. A safe water source for drinking (COR = 1.03, 95% CI [0.89, 1.19]) and a safe disposal of the child's stool (AOR = 0.97, 95% CI [0.84, 1.13]) were not significantly associated with acute malnutrition. These results suggest that WASH practices are related to acute malnutrition. Future studies—in particular intervention studies—should investigate whether improving WASH practices is effective in reducing malnutrition in infants and young children.

In Ethiopia, limited information is available about the epidemiology of over-nutrition. This study assessed the prevalence of, and factors associated with overweight and obesity among adults in Hawassa city, Southern Ethiopia. A community-based cross-sectional survey was conducted in August 2015 in the city. A total of 531 adults 18–64 years of age were selected using multistage sampling approach. Interviewer administered qualitative food frequency questionnaire was used to assess the consumption pattern of twelve food groups. The level of physical exercise was measured via the General Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPAQ). Based on anthropometric measurements, Body Mass Index (BMI) was computed and overweight including obesity (BMI of 25 or above) was defined. For identifying predictors of overweight and obesity, multivariable binary logistic regression model was fitted and the outputs are presented using Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) with 95% Confidence Intervals (CI). The prevalence of overweight including obesity was 28.2% (95% CI: 24.2–32.2). Significant proportions of adults had moderate (37.6%) or low (2.6%) physical activity level. As compared to men, women had 2.56 (95% CI: 1.85–4.76) times increased odds of overweight/obesity. With reference to adults 18–24 years of age, the odds were three times higher among adults 45–54 (3.06, 95% CI: 1.29–7.20) and 55–64 (2.88, 95% CI: 1.06–7.84) years. Those from the highest income tercile were 3.16 times (95% CI: 1.88–5.30) more likely to be overweight/obese as compared to adults from the lowest tercile. Having moderate (3.10, 95% CI: 1.72–5.60) or low (4.80 95% CI: 2.50–9.23) physical activity was also significantly associated with the outcome. Further, daily intake of alcohol and, frequent consumption of sweets, meat and eggs were associated with overweight/obesity. Conversely, no significant associations were evident for meal frequency, practices of skipping breakfast, behavior of eating away from home and frequency of consumption of fast foods, fruits and vegetables. Prompting active lifestyle, limiting intakes of sweets, advocating optimum consumption of alcohol and calorie dense animal source foods, especially amongst the better-off segment of the population, may reduce the magnitude of over-nutrition.