Individual and contextual determinants of under-nutrition among pre-school children in Senegal

Abstract

Under-nutrition of under five children remains a serious challenge to human development in Senegal. To address this challenge with respect to achieving by 2030 the Sustainable Development Goals requires the identification of the under-nutrition risk factors at individual and contextual levels. This study uses data obtained from the 2015 Senegal Demographic and Health Survey (SDHS). Our sample includes 4740 children aged 0-59 months in 214 districts. We apply multilevel logistic regression in which individual factors are at the first level and community level factors at the second level. Although factors such as the age of the children may justify targeted actions, other variables such as maternal education and household poverty require specific actions. Similarly, the effect of contextual factors reveals the potential benefits to children’s nutritional status from district targeting.