Publications

Malnutrition remains a pressing global health concern, particularly in developing nations likethose in Sub-Saharan Africa. In Uganda, alarming statistics reveal that 38% of children sufferfrom stunting, 6% from wasting, and 16% from being underweight. Notably, the northernregion sees 40% affected, while the southwestern region grapples with a staggering 50% ofmalnourished children. This study centered on unraveling the influencers of malnutritionamong children under two years old in Kashenyi, Bushenyi District. Employing a communitybasedcross-sectional design, the research adopted a quantitative approach for datacollection and analysis. The study focused on 100 children from over 250 households withinKashenyi parish. Analysis, conducted using the Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS,Version 20.0), revealed a 20% prevalence of malnutrition among children in Kashenyi Parish,Bushenyi District. The study identified several statistically significant factors associated withmalnutrition in these children, including the child's age, gender, birth order, mother’s age,occupation, education level, marital status, as well as aspects such as breastfeeding,infections, and immunization. Recommendations arising from this research emphasize thecritical need for educational interventions targeting mothers. These programs couldsignificantly enhance nutritional practices for vulnerable infants, effectively mitigating theimpact of malnutrition. Such initiatives, however, must be accompanied by robustmonitoring and evaluation mechanisms to ensure their efficacy and impact.Keywords: Malnutrition, Underweight, Breastfeeding, Children, Immunization.