D. Otgonjargal, Bradley A. Woodruff, Batjargal J., B. Gereljargal and Davaalkham D.
This study describes the nutritional status of chil dren under-five years of age in Mongolia. This cross-sectional survey was conducted in all 21 prov inces of the 4 economic regions of the country and capital Ulaanbaatar city. This is a two-stage c luster-sample survey that was performed in 2010. In total, 400 households were randomly selected bas ed on local administrative and district/family hospital registry. A total of 706 children aged 0-5 9 months were selected from sampled households, which was consistent with the survey plan to sample 670 children from 2,000 households were assessed via questionnaire and anthropometric measu rements. The prevalence of stunting, wasting and underweight were 15.6%, 1.7% and 4.7% respectiv ely. Stunting was highest among the 24-35 months age group (20.8%). A statistically significa nt difference (p < 0.005) was found between rural and urban area with regard to stunting. Geographica lly, region-specific prevalence rates of stunting ranged from 9.0% in Ulaanbaatar to 33.1% in the Wes tern Region. Findings suggest the need to implement evidence-based child health policy and st rategies, prioritizing the poor and socially disadvantaged population. Intervention efforts shou ld especially focus on the Western Region to improve protein energy malnutrition measures.
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