Seasonal variation of household food insecurity and household dietary diversity on wasting and stunting among young children in a drought prone area in South Ethiopia: A cohort study

Abstract

This study was conducted to evaluate seasonal patterns of household food insecurity, dietary diversity, and household characteristics on wasting and stunting among children in households followed for 1 year in the drought-prone areas of Sidama, Ethiopia. A cohort study design was employed. Data were collected on the pre-harvest season (March and June) and post-harvest season (September and December) of 2017. We studied 935 children aged 6 to 47 months. At four seasons over a year, we had 3,449 observations from 897 households and 82% (2,816) (95% CI: 80.3–82.9) were food in-secured house- holds. Severe food insecurity was higher in the pre-harvest (March; food scarcity season) which was 69% as compared to 50% of September (P