Promotion of Egg and Eggshell Powder Consumption on the Nutritional Status of Young Children in Ethiopia

Abstract

Introduction From 2000 to 2016, Ethiopia recorded a consistent declining trend of stunting and underweight from 58% to 38% and 41% to 24%, the decrease of 1.25 % and 1.063 % per year, respectively. Yet stunting and underweight remain significant public health challenges of Ethiopia [1]. Wasting showed little decrease in the past sixteen years. To the contrary, anaemia has been reported to have increased from 44% in 2011 to 57% in 2016, presenting a further challenge to combatting malnutrition [1]. Poor feeding practices are one of the major factors contributing to under nutrition in Ethiopia. Abstract Introduction: Complementary feeding presents a challenge for very young children in Ethiopia as these foods are generally thin cereals providing little protein and micronutrients. We tested whether an egg-a-day and eggshell powder (ESP) providing calcium (Ca) will improve nutritional status of young children in a 6-month randomized controlled cluster trial in Southern Ethiopia.