Determinants Of Acute Malnutrition Among Under-five Years Children
[A CASE STUDY OF ILLELA LOCAL GOVERNMENT SOKOTO STATE, NIGERIA]

A comparison of stunting between males and females showed that slightly more females (39.6%) were stunted compared to 38.5% of the males. For wasting and underweight, females were equally more wasted and underweight respectively than their male counterparts. However there was no significant relationship between gender of child and stunting with underweight, however, there is a statistically significant relationship that exist between sex and wasting thus p= 0.026
On the age of a child,  there was a significant relationship between  age of child and stunting (p=0.001*<0.05).There were few children underweight from 13-59 months(only five) unlike those aged 12 months and below as shown in table 4.5. Also children aged 12 months and below were more underweight and wasted than those older from 13-59 months.
For birth order, stunting was more among children of birth order 1-4 than those of order 5 and above.  Children of birth order 3-4 were more wasted than those of birth order 1-2 or 5 or more.
Similarly, underweight was highest among children of birth order 3-4.On the birth interval, stunting was highest among under five children with birth interval of 3-4 years than those of <2 or even 5-6 years. For wasting, however, more children of birth interval <2 years were wasted. On underweight, only few cases of children with birth interval 4 years and below were underweight. There was however no significant relationship between birth interval and all the malnutrition indices that is stunting, wasting and underweight.
 Results also indicate that there were more stunted children among mothers aged 30-39 years (56.5%) than those 20-29 years or even 40-49 years. There was however no significant relationship between age of mother at birth and stunting. However, there were more wasted children among mothers aged 20-29 years unlike other age groups.  It is indicated that majority of underweight children were from mothers aged 40-49 years.  There was no significant relationship between age of mother and malnutrition among under five children.
On mother’s level of education, most of the children had mother with primary and secondary+ education. Stunting was less among children of mothers with no formal education.  There was no significant relationship between mother’s education level and malnutrition.
On the marital status, majority of the stunted children were from mothers who were married or cohabiting (44.6%). Similarly, therewere more wasted and underweight children among married or cohabiting couples.  There was however no significant relationship betweenmarital status and malnutrition.
More stunted children were from peasant farmers as well as business/civil servants. In the same vein, wasting and underweight was common among peasant farmers and pastoralists.