A RETROSPECTIVE REVIEW OF NUTRITIONAL UPTAKE AMONG UNDER-FIVE CHILDREN IN HEALTH FACILITIES IN RIVERS STATE, NIGERIA.

Nigeria has a high prevalence of malnutrition among children under five years. This study aims to determine the nutritional intake in children who visited health facilities in Rivers State from 0 months to 59 months of age from 1st January 2019 – 31st December 2021. Methodology: A 3-year retrospective review of nutritional data from 389 health facilities in Rivers State, Nigeria, was conducted. Data was reviewed, analysed and presented as frequencies and percentages in tables and charts. Results: The study found that 2,100,401 children received Vitamin A, with 21.57% receiving 100,000 IU (between the ages of 6-11 months) and 78.43% receiving 200,000 IU (between the ages of 12 – 59 months). The percentage of children (aged 6 – 11 months) who received 100,000 IU of Vitamin A, decreased from 71.25% in 2019 to 25.11% in 2020 and 3.65% in 2021. While children aged 12 – 59 months who received 200,000 IU of Vitamin A comprised 87.29% of them in 2019 followed by 10.78% in 2020 and 1.93% in 2021. A total of 787,268 children were exclusively breastfed from 0 – 6 months of age with the percentage of exclusively breastfed children decreased from 36.6% in 2019 to 32.57% in 2020 and 30.83% in