Assessment of the current status of acute malnutrition in children under five in Songinokhairkhan district and nutritional counseling for infants and young children

Abstract

Background: Lack of essential nutrients in the first years of a child’s life can lead to delayed growth, anemia, rickets, and vitamin A deficiency. Aim: To assess acute malnutrition among under 5 years children and determine associated factors responsible. Purpose: Detection of acute malnutrition in children and investigation of the relationship between home visits and caregiver knowledge of infant and young child nutrition. 1. Identify and treat acute malnutrition in children 2. Assess the availability of child nutrition information to the family during the home visit 3. Measure the impact of children’s home visits on parental knowledge of child nutrition Material and Methods: The survey was conducted between September 2020 and December 2021 in the Songinokhairkhan district primary health centers of Ulaanbaatar in the field of analytics model and prospective Cohort research. Results: Mongolia is a country with the “low” prevalence of protein and caloric deficiency due to the fact that according to the WHO criteria, the prevalence of underweight and delayed growth in children under the age of 5 is lower than the national threshold. Conclusion: 1. Nutritional counseling for infants and young children is inadequate. 33.9% of the survey participants did not receive nutrition counseling during home visits, 66.1% did not receive nutrition counseling during telephone calls, and 11.6% received nutrition counseling but it was not adequate. 2. Mothers’ point of view towards child nutrition is above 50% for all indicators. 3. Children with acute malnutrition accounted for 1.4% of total children, of whom 74% were moderate and 26% were severe without clinical complications, which is at the same level as the national average.