Stakeholder-led nutrition security interventions and households’ nutritional status in Eastern Ethiopia

Ethiopia’s government has been implementing several initiatives and policies to address nutrition problems. However, nutrition problems affect the country’s socioeconomic and health circumstances. The aim of this study was to examine stakeholders’ interventions in improving the nutrition of rural households. Primary data was digitally collected from randomly selected 385 households. In addition to the household survey, data was gathered from stakeholders to examine their contributions to households’ nutrition security. Thus, 84 stakeholder employees were purposively selected for the survey. The generalized ordered logit model was applied to estimate factors associated with households’ nutritional status using household data. Stakeholder data was analyzed separately using descriptive analysis to complement household data. The finding of the study indicated that the average household dietary diversity score was 4.02. This figure is lower than the 5.42 national household dietary diversity score. Additionally, 50% of the sampled households fell into the category of low dietary diversity. The survey results also revealed that several stakeholders intervene in the production and consumption of nutrient-dense crops through training, seed delivery, and home-garden-based vegetable production. Finally, the econometric model results revealed that access to extension services, irrigation facilities, and engaging women in farming activities were positively associated with the medium and high nutritional status of rural households. The sex of the household head, credit services, market distance, healthcare services, and changes in weather variability were negatively correlated with the medium and high nutritional status of households. Therefore, relevant stakeholders working on agriculture and nutrition interventions should pay attention to take action on nutrition-related concerns in eastern Ethiopia.