Diarrhoeal morbidity among young children in Eritrea: Environmental and socioeconomic determinants

Diarrhoeal diseases are still a major cause of morbidity and mortality amon g children in many developing countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa . In Eritrea, diarrhoeal disease is one of the most frequent causes of illn ess and a major contributor to mortality among children. Yet, except for so me descriptive reports by the National Statistics Office of Eritrea, no sys tematic study of the factors that influence the prevalence of diarrhoeal mo rbidity among young children in Eritrea was carried out. This study examine d the effects of some environmental and socioeconomic factors that were ass ociated with childhood diarrhoea in Eritrea. The study used data collected by the Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) in Eritrea in 1995. Results of t he study showed that the environmental and socioeconomic conditions of the population were significant predictors of diarrhoeal morbidity. The study a lso found an important association of diarrhoeal morbidity with the age and the number of children, particularly with high prevalence of diarrhoea at the age of weaning and in households with a large number of children.