Assessment of nutritional status of children under five years in hodam district

Abstract Nutrition is summing total of the processes involved in the intake and utilization of food substances by living organisms, including ingestion, digestion, absorption, transport and metabolism of nutrients found in food. Children are the future of a country and precious resources of sustainable development of the human society. Improving nutrition and health status of children is the basis for realization of the comprehensive development and the transformation of any country. Development during the early childhood, especially from fetus to two-year-old. The research objective is: To assess the nutritional status among children under five years in Hodan District Mogadishu-Somalia. The researcher Specifically focused on to determine the socio-demographic characteristics of under five-year-old children in Hodan district. To determine the nutritional status using anthropometric methods of under five-year-old children in Hodan district. To determine the prevalence malnutrition among under five-year-old children in Hodan district. The study design was be descriptive cross-sectional study it is easy to use as the information collect from respondents was not be require to be reinvestigated over a period of time the study area Hodan district is one of the largest districts among the 17 districts in Banadir region The target populations of the study was be children less than five years admit at M.C.H Hodan The procedure of data collection was hand by hand questionnaire which going to collect the respondents which admit at M.C.H Hodan in Hodan District Target population The study analyzed demographics of respondents, focusing on gender, age, marital status, education, and experience. The majority were female, aged 18-27 and 28-47, with 73.5% being single. The majority were employed, with 50 (50%) unemployed. The study also surveyed respondents on the nutritional status of children under five years old. 55.9% agreed that a balanced diet should include protein-rich foods, vitamin-rich foods, and energy foods. Most respondents disagreed with exclusively breastfeeding for the first six months, but 47.1% disagreed with combining breast milk and other foods. Nutritional status is significantly influenced by frequency of feeding, poverty, ignorance of nutritious foods, and food insecurity. These findings suggest a need for interventions to improve dietary intake, access to nutritious foods, and maternal education on child nutrition in Hodan District. Finally, the researcher recommends Although the study was carried out in Mogadishu, there is a need for further research across the whole country. Further research across Somalia is recommended to assess the generalizability of these findings.