Nutritional Status of Children under Five in Bamako’s IDP Sites

Introduction: Malnutrition is one of the main causes of infant mortality worldwide. The advent of the security crisis in Mali in 2012 triggered major population movements both within the country and in neighboring countries. This population movement has given rise to numerous spontaneous sites and other areas hosting internally displaced persons (IDPs). The aim of this study was to assess the nutritional status of children aged between 6 and 59 months at IDP sites in Commune VI. Method: This cross-sectional study involved 120 mother-child pairs (0 - 59 months) selected using a two-stage simple random sampling technique. Information on the sociodemographic, health care (vaccination, deworming and vitamin A supplementation) and anthropometric characteristics of the index children were obtained using an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Weight, height, brachial circumference (BP) and the presence of bilateral buccal edema were measured according to standard procedures. The weight-for-height (W/H) and height-for-age (HFA) z-scores used were those of the World Health Organization (WHO). Analysis of the children’s anthropometric data was carried out using ENA software, version February 2020, Excel and in relation to the WHO 2006 reference values for anthropometric data. Results: Among children aged 6 to 59 months, the prevalence of global acute malnutrition was 10.7% (7.1 - 18.6 IC 95%). SAM represented 0.8% (0.1 - 4.6 95% CI), MAM 9.8% (6.4 - 17.7 95% CI) and underweight 16.7% (11.1 - 24.3 95% CI). Conclusion: This study enabled us to assess the nutritional status of children under 5, who are the most vulnerable.