Demographic

years and above. Severe anaemia, which has a serious effect on the health of an individual, is highestamong children age 12-17 months (3 percent).Boys were found to be anaemic slightly more often than girls (44 percent and 40 percent,respectively). The anaemia rate is higher among children living in urban areas (50 percent) than in ruralareas (40 percent). Anaemia prevalence among children varies across regions, ranging from 38 percent inLubombo to 45 percent in Manzini region. The variation in anaemia rates by mother’s education andwealth quintile is not uniform; however, children whose mothers have tertiary education are markedlyless likely to be anaemic than other children.Table 11.8.1 Prevalence of anaemia in children 6-59 monthsPercentage of children age 6-59 months classified as having anaemia, by background characteristics,Swaziland 2006-07BackgroundcharacteristicAnaemia status by haemoglobin levelMild(10.0-10.9 g/dl)Moderate(7.0-9.9 g/dl)Severe(below7.0 g/dl)AnyanaemiaNumber ofchildrenAge in months6-8 31.6 32.1 1.4 65.2 1489-11 33.2 35.2 0.9 69.3 14512-17 24.0 36.4 3.1 63.6 31818-23 24.9 38.7 1.3 64.9 26624-35 23.9 18.1 0.6 42.6 56436-47 17.6 7.4 0.2 25.2 59048-59 16.7 7.9 0.0 24.6 650SexMale 22.3 20.4 0.7 43.5 1,325Female 21.3 18.0 0.9 40.1 1,356Mother's interview statusInterviewed 22.6 20.8 0.9 44.3 1,883Not interviewed but in household 27.8 24.4 0.0 52.2 68Not interviewed, and not in thehousehold 1 19.2 14.7 0.6 34.5 730ResidenceUrban 27.1 22.1 0.8 50.0 396Rural 20.9 18.7 0.8 40.4 2,285RegionHhohho 22.9 19.1 0.8 42.8 697Manzini 24.1 20.1 0.9 45.1 774Shiselweni 21.8 18.2 0.2 40.2 680Lubombo 17.1 19.3 1.3 37.7 529Mother’s education 2No education 20.6 18.5 1.2 40.3 179Lower primary 24.7 23.0 0.5 48.2 191Higher primary 20.5 22.3 0.7 43.6 539Secondary 23.5 22.0 1.3 46.8 649High school 27.5 19.8 0.3 47.6 286Tertiary 18.1 10.3 0.0 28.5 105Wealth quintileLowest 21.2 21.1 1.2 43.4 641Second 21.6 16.5 0.7 38.7 647Middle 21.0 22.3 0.7 44.0 533Fourth 24.4 18.3 0.6 43.2 489Highest 21.1 17.5 0.8 39.4 371Total 21.8 19.2 0.8 41.8 2,681Note: Table is based on children who slept in the household the night before the interview. Prevalence ofanaemia, based on haemoglobin levels, is adjusted for altitude using CDC formulas (CDC, 1998).Haemoglobin is measured in grams per decilitre (g/dl). Total includes one child with information missingon mother’s education.1Includes children whose mothers are dead2For women who were not interviewed, information is taken from the Household Questionnaire.Excludes children whose mothers are not listed in the Household QuestionnaireNutrition of Children and Adults | 155