ODO SHAKISO WOREDA (BORENA ZONE) - PFEDA / Page d ...

3.2 Vaccination and Health Status in the Studied Children
The EPI coverage is grouped into two categories; those households that have reported
to have kept the EPI card (11.7%, N=81) and who had no card and responded verbally
(88.3%, N=613). The results indicate that the combined universal coverage of
completion of vaccination totals to 33.1% (N=230 out of 694 total children) (Table C1).
As regards the health status of the studied children in the last 15 days prior to the
survey, the caretakers have reported that 318 (45.8%) out of 694 children were ill. This
is a high level of ill health. Detailed results (Table C2.) show that 45.6% (N=145), 21.4%
(N=68) and 32.7% (N=104) were suffering from fever, diarrhoea, and malaria,
respectively. Prevalence of repeated measles and malarial attacks have been reported
by a number of households and these reports are in agreement with the statements of
officials of local health institutions.
Diarrhoea alone accounted for more than 45% in children indicating a high pattern of
malnutrition. The predisposition of malnutrition to mass diarrhoea in children is common
observation during such food shortages. Attacks of malaria are equally alarming. The
area is an epidemic proportion, currently.
3.3 Socio-economics and Food Situation of the Interviewed
Households
• Head of Household and Household Size
Among the interviewed and responded households (n=545), 91.0% (N=496) are
headed by men while female-headed households are 9.0% (N=49). The reasons for
being female head of a household varied from being widowed 67.9% (N=36), divorced
15.1% (N=8), migrant husband 5.7% (N=3), to shared husband 9.4% (N=5) (Table D2).
The mean household size in the Woreda is 6.8 and the ranges are given in Table D1 in Appendix D. More
than 58% of the respondents constitute 6-13 people living under the same roof. No significant association
was observed between household size and malnutrition level in correlation computations.
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