Annual Report 2006/07 - ETH - North-South Centre North-South ...

ZIL research projectsLivestocksystemsresearchFood quality and public healthZIL research project, Phase IVProject leadersRichard Hurrell /Lena Davidsson, IAEA, AustriaContact personsStephanie Good /Yoseph Shiferaw, ILRI, KenyaCollaboratorsThomas Fitz Randolph, ILRI, Kenya /Belay Kassa, Alemaya University,EthiopiaDurationSeptember 2004 – December 2007Animal source foods and nutritionduring infancy and early childhood300 families with infants who were six months old at thestart of the study were visited during one year to collect dataon dietary consumption patterns, growth and morbidity. Ablood sample was drawn at the end of the study. Informationabout the socio-economic status of the families was collected.The mean family size in rural households was 5.4 comparedto 4.9 in urban households. In general, the yearly income ofurban households was higher than of rural households (4561± 368 Birr compared to 3418 ± 277 Birr). Cows’ milk had beenintroduced to 46 % of children by the age of six months (atleast once daily in 93 % of these children, but many mothers[64 %] diluted milk with water). At six months, 9 % of childrenwere fed eggs at least once a week, while at 18 months 44 %were fed eggs at this frequency. The most frequently consumedfood at 18 months (98 % of children) was “injera”, afermented staple food made of the cereal tef (Eragrostis tef).Mother with her children in the rural area of Debre Zeit, EthiopiaThe diets of populations in developing countries are based onstarchy staple foods. Animal source foods (ASFs) are importantsources of energy, high quality protein and bioavailablemicronutrients but are often consumed in small quantities.This project is focussed on consumption patterns of ASFs inyoung children in Ethiopia and the pathway by which livestock-keepinginfluences their consumption patterns. AlmostGrowth was impaired during the period from six to 18months, a pattern typically found in resource-poor areas. Atsix months, less than 10 % of the children were stunted. Oneyear later, almost 50 % were stunted (height-for-age Z-scorebelow -2 standard deviations of mean of reference population).Blood analysis (n=242) indicated high prevalence ofanaemia at 18 months; 68 % (cut-off 110g/l). These resultshighlight the poor nutritional status of young children inthe Ethiopian highlands. Further analysis will evaluate dataon agricultural economics, consumption of ASFs and childnutrition in more depth.40