Antenatal care utilization and nutrition counseling are strongly associated with infant and young child feeding knowledge among rural/semi-urban women in Harari region, Eastern Ethiopia

There is a gap in evidence linking antenatal care (ANC) utilization, nutrition counseling, and knowledge of pregnant women about infant and young child feeding (IYCF), particularly in low-income settings. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the association between ANC follow-up and nutrition counseling with IYCF knowledge. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 390 pregnant women in the rural kebeles of the Harari region from January to June 2019. Data were collected using face-to-face interviews on tablet computers. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression were employed. An adjusted odds ratio (with 95% CI) was used to determine the strength of association between IYCF knowledge with ANC follow-up and nutrition counseling by adjusting for educational status, occupation, gravida, and distance to the nearest health center. Overall, 54.4% [95% CI 49.2, 59.2] of currently pregnant women were knowledgeable about IYCF of which only 20% started ANC follow-up and 24.4% received nutrition counseling. Out of 288 multigravida women, only 51.4% had ANC follow-up during their last pregnancy. In the adjusted model, ANC follow-up during the current pregnancy (AOR 1.85, 95% CI 1.07–3.22), those who received nutrition counseling (AOR 1.92, 95% CI 1.09–3.38), literate in education (AOR 1.71, 95% CI 1.07–2.73), multigravida (AOR 1.96, 95% CI 1.12–3.43), and far from the nearest health center (AOR 0.95, 95% CI 0.93–0.97) were significantly associated with the mothers IYCF knowledge. Thus, health care providers should encourage mothers to attend ANC during pregnancy and provide nutrition counseling about the IYCF

Adaptability and Growth Performance of Introduced Bamboo Species in North East Ethiopia

The common bamboo species in Ethiopia are Arundinaria alpina and Oxytenanthera abyssinica. Arundinaria alpina is a highland bamboo species growing in altitudes from 2400 – 3500 and Oxytenanthera abyssinica is a lowland bamboo growing within the altitudes from 500 - 1800 meter above sea level. But those two bamboo species grow scarcely in the study area. Keeping the importance of increasing diversity, generation of high economic earnings would possible through introducing available bamboo species for different agroecology. From this perspective, it is imperative to identify the best adaptable exotic bamboo species in the north eastern part of Amhara region. The experiment was conducted in Kobo research site of Amhara regional state, Ethiopia. Randomized complete block design with three replications was used to conduct the experiment. Bamboo seedlings were obtained from international network for bamboo and rattan (INBAR-Ethiopia) and planted on July 22/ 2013. An observation on the survival of the propagated material, diameter, height and number of newly emerged shoots were recorded every three months with follow up on every month. The species were Denderocalamus brandisii, Bambusa tulda, Bambusa balcooa and Denderocalamus asper. The results showed that, Bambusa balcooa and Bambusa tulda has better survival percentage than Denderocalamus brandisii and Denderocalamus asper. Additionally, Bambusa balcooa and Bambusa tulda had significantly higher height and Diameter at Breast Height than Denderocalamus asper. Therefore, both Bambusa balcooa and Bambusa tulda should be demonstrated and popularized around kobo and other areas that have similar soil and climatic conditions.&nbsp