Assessment of the Nutritional Status of Preschool Children in a Number of Nursery Schools in the Commune of Ratoma, Conakry, Guinea

Malnutrition in children under the age of 5 is a public health problem in Guinea, particularly in our schools, and has a negative impact on children’s development. It is in this context that the present study on the evaluation of the nutritional status of pre-school children in nursery schools in the commune of Ratoma was carried out. A cross-sectional and descriptive study was carried out from 25 January to 02 March 2020 in ten (10) schools in the Commune of Ratoma, with a total of 402 children. Of the 402 children surveyed, 359 (89.30%) were in a normal nutritional state and 43 (10.69%) in a state of moderate acute malnutrition. Children aged 5 accounted for 51.16% of malnourished children, followed by 4-year-olds (23.25%), 3-year-olds (16.27%) and 2-year-olds (9.30%). There were 0 cases of malnutrition in Kabassan and Hadja Kany schools, and higher percentages in José Marty (18.60%) Santa Maria (16.27%) Wariah (16.27%) Hadja Habibata (13.95%) and Elhadj Naby and Safia (11.62%).