Iron Supplementation among Children Aged 6 to 59 months in Afghanistan: AReport of Afghanistan Demographic and Health Survey (AfDHS) 2015

Abstract

Objective: Iron deficiency (ID) remains a global nutrition problem resulting in a prevalence rate of 30%-60% anemia in young children of low income countries. Low cost iron supplements are efficient for prevention and treatment of iron deficiency anemia (IDA). The present study aimed to evaluate iron supplementation in children under the age of five in Afghanistan. Methods: This study is a part of the Afghanistan Demographic and Health Survey (AfDHS) implemented by the Central Statistics Organization (CSO) and the Ministry of Public Health. AfDHS followed a stratified two stage sampling design for 34 provinces of Afghanistan. In the first stage, 950 clusters selected, and in the second stage, a fixed number of 27 households per cluster including 25,741 households selected for the study, of which 24,395 successfully interviewed, yielding a response rate of 98%. Results: About 30% of the children under age of two years old in Afghanistan consumed iron rich foods in the 24 hours before the interview. Non breastfeeding children were more likely to consume foods rich in iron comparing breastfeeding children. Only 6% of children 6-59 months received iron supplements in the seven days prior to the survey. Higher education of mother and better economic status related to more intakes of iron rich foods and iron supplements in children. Iron intake from food or supplements was higher in urban districts comparing rural areas. Conclusion: Although IDA is very common in developing countries like Afghanistan, the importance of iron supplementation is still neglected. Health policy makers should keep focusing on iron malnutrition and improve parents’ knowledge on choosing iron rich foods and iron supplementation.