ABSTRACT

Childhood malnutrition is the single biggest contributor to under-five mortality, due to greater susceptibility to infections and slow recovery from illness caused by nutritional inadequacy which tends to hamper the development of the body and if it continued for long periods of time could result in growth faltering manifested in the form of low weight, small height and low IQ. This is cross sectional study designed to assess the nutritional status of children, 0-5 years in Internally Displaced Persons’ Camps, in Benin City, Nigeria. A structured questionnaire was used to elicit personal information of the children, socio-economic data of their mothers/care givers, feeding habit, breastfeeding practices, complementary feeding practices and health status of the children. Anthropometric measurement of weight-for-height, weight-for-age and height-for-age z- scores. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Chi square. From the result, some of them (29.1%) were within 36 months old. Thirty-six point four (36.4%) of their mother were within the age 31-35 years. majority (90%) sourced their drinking water from borehole and 85.4% used improve/covered pit toiled. Most (65.9%) ate three times. Most (63.6%, 45.9%, 60% and 75.9%) sometimes go to bed without food, starve due to lack of food, consumed spoilt/low quality food because that was the only food in the house and reject food because he/she was given the same type of food, respectively. About 20.5% of the women breastfed their babies exclusively.  Majority (86.7%) stopped breastfeeding their children immediately after the introduction of complementary food. Some 32.7% and 21.8% of the children experienced fever and diarrhea in the 2 weeks. Prevalence of wasting, stunting and underweight was among 2.7%, 52.7% and 24.5% of the children. Considering the number of those who were stunted, underweight and those who suffered fever and diarrhea in this study, there is need for the government and individuals to come to the aid of these internally displaced persons by providing food and medical facilities for them.