PREDICTORS OF NUTRITIONAL-STATUS AMONG PARTICIPANTS IN A RICE IRRIGATION SCHEME IN KENYA

A cross-sectional household survey of 187 households in, and 168 house holds from surrounding areas of a rice irrigation scheme in Kenya was carried out in order to study individual and social characteristics as sociated with childhood malnutrition. The proportion of under-fives wh o had wt/age, wt/ht and ht/age indices below minus 2 standard deviatio ns of the WHO-NCHS reference values was higher among participants in t he scheme than among non-participants. Maternal education was the only variable that was significantly associated to all indicators of malnu trition used in the study. The area of residence, the number of reside nt dependents on proceeds from the same farm, recent episode of diarrh oea, child's age, occupation of the mother, mother's age, type of care taker of the child in the mother's absence, and marital status of the mother, were associated to one or two of the indicators of malnutriti on. However, despite maternal education being significantly higher on the scheme than off-scheme, crowding and poor sanitation conditions ar e such that the nutritional status of preschool children within the sc heme is worse. Promotion of maternal education, provision of facilitie s to improve sanitary conditions and programs aimed at controlling pop ulation density villages within the scheme, are recommended.