Great Lakes Center for Culture, Peace and Development (G.L.C.P.D)
Published, by GLCPD ed. No.1. PO.Box. 4432 Kigali, Rwanda


Ir Jules Kazungu , Coordinator of GLCPD and Sosthène UMUTONIWASE KAMANA

THE PREVALENCE OF PROTEIN-ENERGY MALNUTRITION AND THE FACTORS FAVOURING IT AMONG CHILDREN AGED BETWEEN SIX AND FIFTY-NINE MONTHS.

The study was conducted in Gisagara, District in the Southern Province of Rwanda. Globally, the Gisagara District, like the entire Rwanda, has got a temperate climate by altitude even if it is geographically located near the Equator. Average annual temperatures oscillate around 20 oC and annual average rainfalls changing around 1200 mm). The climate is bimodally distributed, with the first season lasting from March to May and the second season beginning in September or October and ending in late December or early January.
This work is entitled: “The Prevalence of Protein-Energy Malnutrition and the factors favouring it among children aged between six and fifty-nine months: A case study of Gisagara District”. It is a transversal descriptive type of study. To gather the data, we used a sample technique of thirty clusters, where we selected 30 cells and 384 children. 13 children per cell were chosen at random.

The management and statistics analyzes were done with the aid of the software package Epi Info version 3.2.2, the statistics test of the Chi square of Person is used to compare the proportions. The signification level is fixed at p < 0.05.

Based on the results obtained during our study, it was indicated that: 8.3% of the children examined were emaciated; 44% were suffering from chronic Protein-Energy Malnutrition; 23.4% suffer from low body weight; 34% of the children of the sampling area do not receive weaning complementary diet during breast feeding; infant and child feeding practices by the mothers of the district is 40.6% ; 72.4% of household don’t have food stocks; frequency of infectious and parasite-borne diseases among children aged between six and fifty-nine months is 60.2% and 16.4% of mothers have taboos and forbidden foods of certain foods that have a detrimental effect on good nutritional practice.16.4% because of culture and religion.

Based on the results obtained, our hypothesis « Protein-Energy Malnutrition constitutes an important public health problem for children aged between six and fifty-nine months in the District of Gisagara » is therefore confirmed.

Contact persons Ir Jules Kazungu(Coordinator of GLCPD).Kigali Rwanda