Evaluation of a face-to-face weaning food intervention in Kwara state, Nigeria: Knowledge, trial, and adoption of a home-prepared weaning food

This paper reports on the evaluation of a pilot intervention which used nutrition education techniques to introduce a fortified, home-prepared weaning food (eko ilera, or ‘pap for health’) in 12 communities in Kwara State, Nigeria, from June to August, 1988. The recipe added toasted cowpea flour, red palm oil, and sugar to increase the energy and protein density of the traditional maize or sorghum starch porridge used for weaning from 38 to 85 kcal and 0.8 to 2.0 g protein per 100 g. A stratified, random sample of participating (n=295) and non-participating (n=301) mothers from the same communities were interviewed from 2 to 8 weeks following the completion of the intervention, and their rates of knowledge, trail, and adoption of eko ilera were evaluated. Of the participating mothers, 57% (95% CI: 51%, 63%) knew the modified recipe, 48% (43%, 54%) tried it, and 17% (12%, 21%) adopted it with the intention of using it in the future. Only 2% (1%, 7%) of non-participating mothers knew about the recipe. Multivariate analyses indicated that the mothers' level of education and their perception of the cost and length of preparation time of the recipe were significantly associated with its adoption. The intervention was successful in using face-to-face nutrition education methods to introduce eko ilera to mothers in this region of Nigeria and to encourage its trial and adoptio

Effect of diarrhoea on dietary intake by infants and young children in rural villages of Kwara State, Nigeria

Community-based, quantitative studies of dietary intake by 5- to 28-months-old Nigerian children were conducted during episodes of diarrhoea and subsequent convalescent and healthy periods. Energy intakes during diarrhoea (85.3 kcal/kg per d) were slightly lower than during health (95.9 kcal/kg per d, P less than 0.05), using paired analysis of intra-individual differences. When intake was disaggregated by food source, no differences by illness status were found in energy intake from breast milk or liquid pap. There were no differences in frequency or duration of breastfeeding by illness status, but pap was provided more frequently and in smaller amounts during illness. Energy intake from other foods, including solids, was greater during health than diarrhoea (P less than 0.05) with an increase in number of servings per day. There was no evidence of caretakers either withholding food during illness or providing extra food during the convalescent phase. The magnitude of illness-associated differences in these children's daily intake was small relative to the deficit in their intakes, even on healthy days, when compared to the amounts recommended for this age grou

Consumption of weaning foods from fermented cereals in Kwara State, Nigeria.

To define infant and child feeding practices in relation to diarrhea, research was undertaken in Mwara State, southwestern Nigeria. This research included community-based, ethnographic studies, food frequency questionnaires, and quantitative observations of dietary intake and of child feeding techniques. The survey questionnaire indicated that the initiation of breastfeeding was almost universal, with a median duration of about 18-24 months. Fermented cereal paps, served in liquid form, were consumed by more than 90% of children over 5 months of age. Information is given as to composition of the raw fermented cereal paste and that of the prepared cereal paps, as well as the amounts served and consumed. The consumption of dietary energy did not vary according to the stage of illness. Cereal paps provided an average of 20-26 kcal/kg/day; this represented, for infants ages 5-11 months and children 12-26 months, 23% and 32% of total energy intake, respectively. The energy density of cereal paps was greater when the paps were fortified with sugar or other ingredients. Children who received fewer servings/day ate porridges with higher energy concentrations. There was a positive, statistically significant relationship between the energy density of an individual serving and the total energy provided by the serving. Survey research and behavioral observations indicated that hand feeding was the most common feeding technique for children under 24 months. "Forced" hand feeding tended to more common when the child was suffering from diarrhea. (author's modifie