Correlates of diarrhoea among children below the age of 5 years in Sudan

Abstract

Background: The Millennium Development Goals recognise child health and survival as an important socio-development issue. Objective: To determine the correlates of diarrhoea among children aged below 5 years in north Sudan. Methods: We conducted secondary data analysis of the Sudan Multiple Cluster Indicators Survey II. Results: Altogether, 23,295 children were included in the survey. Half (50.0%) of the children were males, and 22.5% of them were of age less than one year. Boys were 3% (p=0.044) more likely to have diarrhoea compared to girls. Compared with the oldest age group (48-59 months), children less than 6 months of age and those aged 36-47 months had 25% and 18% lower prevalence of diarrhoea, respectively, while children aged 6-24 months and those aged 24-35 months had 1.5 fold and 1.17 fold higher prevalence of diarrhoea. Children in urban areas were 6% more likely to have diarrhoea. Children from households with 1 or 2 people per room were 8% less likely to have diarrhoea compared to children from households with more than 3 people per room. Conclusion: Diarrhoea was associated with child's age, gender, and social status. Our findings provide a useful baseline for interventions and comparisons with future studies.