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Determinants of Children's Nutritional Status in Kenya: Evidence from Demographic and Health Surveys

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  • Jane Kabubo-Mariara
  • Godfrey K. Ndenge
  • Domisiano K. Mwabu
Abstract
This paper uses a pooled sample of the 1998 and 2003 Demographic and Health Survey data sets for Kenya to analyse the determinants of children's nutritional status. We investigate the impact of child, parental, household and community characteristics on children's height and on the probability of stunting. Descriptive and econometric analysis, augmented by policy simulations, is employed to achieve the objectives of the study. In estimation, we control for sample design and possible heterogeneity arising from unobserved community characteristics correlated with children's nutritional status and its determinants. The key findings are that boys suffer more malnutrition than girls, and children of multiple births are more likely to be malnourished than singletons. The results further indicate that maternal education is a more important determinant of children's nutritional status than paternal education. Household assets are also important determinants of children's nutritional status but nutrition improves at a decreasing rate with assets. The use of public health services, more-so modern contraceptives, is also found to be an important determinant of child nutritional status. Policy simulations affirm the potential role of parental, household and community characteristics in reducing long-term malnutrition in Kenya and suggest that the correct policy mix would make a substantial reduction in the current high levels of malnutrition. Our findings suggest that, if Kenya is to achieve her strategic health objectives and millennium development target of reducing the prevalence of malnutrition, strategies for poverty alleviation, promotion of post secondary education for women and provision of basic preventive health care are critical concerns that need to be addressed. Copyright 2009 The author 2008. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Centre for the Study of African Economies. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org, Oxford University Press.

Suggested Citation

  • Jane Kabubo-Mariara & Godfrey K. Ndenge & Domisiano K. Mwabu, 2009. "Determinants of Children's Nutritional Status in Kenya: Evidence from Demographic and Health Surveys," Journal of African Economies, Centre for the Study of African Economies, vol. 18(3), pages 363-387, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:jafrec:v:18:y:2009:i:3:p:363-387
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    Cited by:

    1. Pahlisch, Thi Hoa & Parvathi, Priyanka & Waibel, Hermann, 2018. "Urbanization and child malnutrition: A comparison of three countries in the Greater Mekong Sub-region," TVSEP Working Papers wp-012, Leibniz Universitaet Hannover, Institute for Environmental Economics and World Trade, Project TVSEP.
    2. Pahlisch, Thi Hoa & Parvathi, Priyanka & Waibel, Hermann, 2017. "Comparing peri-urban versus rural poverty and child malnutrition reduction: Insights from Southeast Asia," TVSEP Working Papers wp-005, Leibniz Universitaet Hannover, Institute for Environmental Economics and World Trade, Project TVSEP.
    3. John Cockburn & Ibrahim Kasirye & Jane Kabubo-Mariara & Luca Tiberti & Gemma Ahaibwe, 2014. "Situation Analysis of Child Poverty and Deprivation in Uganda," Working Papers PMMA 2014-03, PEP-PMMA.
    4. Rieger, Matthias & Wagner, Natascha, 2015. "Child health, its dynamic interaction with nutrition and health memory – Evidence from Senegal," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 16(C), pages 135-145.
    5. Maria Sassi, 2020. "Evidence of Between- and Within-Household Child Nutrition Inequality in Malawi: Does the Gender of the Household Head Matter?," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 32(1), pages 28-50, January.
    6. Sharaf, Mesbah & Rashad, Ahmed, 2016. "Economic and Socio-Demographic Determinants of Child Nutritional Status in Egypt: A Comprehensive Analysis using Quantile Regression Approach," Working Papers 2016-4, University of Alberta, Department of Economics.
    7. Pablo Daniel Monterubbianesi & Karina Luján Temporelli, 2022. "Estilos de vida, factores de riesgo y salud autopercibida de la población argentina," Revista de Economía del Rosario, Universidad del Rosario, vol. 25(1), pages 1-27, June.
    8. Fungo, R & Zulu, R & Munthali, J & Mutua, M & Birachi, E, 2023. "Factors Associated With Stunting Among Children Aged Below 60 Months From Rural Malawi: A Matched Case-Control Study," African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development (AJFAND), African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development (AJFAND), vol. 23(10), November.
    9. Adesoji Oladapo Farayibi & Oludele Folarin, 2021. "Does government education expenditure affect educational outcomes? New evidence from sub‐Saharan African countries," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 33(3), pages 546-559, September.
    10. Ahmed Raza CHEEMA* & Zafar ABBAS**, 2016. "Determinants of food Insecurity in Pakistan: Evidence from PSLM 2010-11," Pakistan Journal of Applied Economics, Applied Economics Research Centre, vol. 26(2), pages 183-213.
    11. Carlo Azzarri & Alberto Zezza & Beliyou Haile & Elizabeth Cross, 2015. "Does Livestock Ownership Affect Animal Source Foods Consumption and Child Nutritional Status? Evidence from Rural Uganda," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(8), pages 1034-1059, August.
    12. Adesoji O. Farayibi & Oludele Folarin, 2021. "Does Government Education Expenditure Affect Educational Outcomes? New Evidence from Sub-Sahara African Countries," Working Papers of the African Governance and Development Institute. 21/048, African Governance and Development Institute..
    13. Sukhwinder Singh & Andrew D. Jones & Ruth S. DeFries & Meha Jain, 2020. "The association between crop and income diversity and farmer intra-household dietary diversity in India," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 12(2), pages 369-390, April.
    14. Chandna, Arjita & Bhagowalia, Priya, 2024. "Birth order and children’s health and learning outcomes in India," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
    15. Abayomi Samuel Oyekale, 2015. "Assessment of Malawian Mothers’ Malaria Knowledge, Healthcare Preferences and Timeliness of Seeking Fever Treatments for Children Under Five," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-20, January.
    16. Adesoji O. Farayibi & Oludele Folarin, 2020. "Does Government Education Expenditure Affect Educational Outcomes? New Evidence from Sub-Sahara African Countries," Research Africa Network Working Papers 21/048, Research Africa Network (RAN).
    17. Adesoji O. Farayibi & Oludele Folarin, 2021. "Does Government Education Expenditure Affect Educational Outcomes? New Evidence from Sub-Sahara African Countries," Working Papers 21/048, European Xtramile Centre of African Studies (EXCAS).
    18. Waibel, Hermann & Hohfeld, Lena, 2016. "Poverty and Nutrition: A Case Study of Rural Households in Thailand and Viet Nam," ADBI Working Papers 623, Asian Development Bank Institute.
    19. Adewara, Sunday Olabisi & Visser, Martine, 2011. "Use of Anthropometric Measures to Analyze How Sources of Water and Sanitation Affect Chidren’s Health in Nigeria," RFF Working Paper Series dp-11-02-efd, Resources for the Future.

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