Association between wasting and food insecurity among children under five years: findings from Nepal demographic health survey 2016

Background Wasting is a consequence of food insecurity, inappropriate dietary practices, and inadequate caring and feeding practices. The present study assessed association between wasting and household food insecurity among under 5 years old children, along with other socio-demographic characteristics. Methods This study is a secondary analysis of the Nepal Demographic and Health Survey 2016. The survey is cross-sectional in design with use of standardized tools. The sampling frame used is an updated version of the frame from the 2011 National Population and Housing Census. The participants were children under 5 years of age (n = 2414). Logistic regression was carried out to identify the odds of being wasted for children belonging to different levels of food insecure households using odds ratio and 95% confidence intervals. Results The prevalence of wasting increased with the level of food insecurity, from mild (9.4%) to moderate (10.8%) and to severe (11.3%). The highest proportions of wasted children were in Province 2 (14.3%), from rural areas (10.1%), born to mothers with no education (12.4%) and from a richer quintile (11.3%). Children belonging to severe food insecure households had 1.36 (95%CI 0.72–2.57) adjusted odds of being wasted and those belonging to mild food insecure and moderately food insecure households had 0.98 (95%CI 0.64-1.49) and 1.13 (95%CI 0.65–1.97) odds of being wasted respectively. Province 1 (AOR 2.06, 95%CI 1.01–4.19) and Province 2 (AOR 2.45, 95%CI 1.22–4.95) were significantly associated with wasting. Conclusion Considering the increment in childhood wasting as per level of food insecurity, an integrated intervention should be developed in Nepal that, 1. addresses improving knowledge and behavior of community people with respect to diet and nutrition; 2. reduce the problem of food insecurity through agricultural interventions

Selection of non-timber forest species for community and private plantations in the high and low altitude areas of Makawanpur District, Nepal

The domestication of non-timber forest species (NTFS) is receiving increasing attention from developing economies. However, little is known about the selection of NTFS in Nepal for commercial uses. Sixteen selection criteria were developed and NTFS were ranked for community and private plantations in both low altitude and high altitude areas of Makawanpur district, Nepal, by workshops of multiple NTFS stakeholders. The rigorous scoring of 12 ecologically screened NTFS against the 16 selection criteria revealed that kurilo and sarpagandh are highly preferred NTFS for low altitude areas whereas chiraito and jatamanshi are highly preferred for high altitude. This finding coincides with the general perception of participants and contemporary literature. These are the species being rapidly depleted from the natural forests. Rapid decline of valuable species creates strong motivation from stakeholders for planting them on community and private lan