Abstract:
Childhood malnutrition is partly due to inappropriate complementary feeding (CF) practices. The effect
of two education interventions on young child feeding practices was evaluated in the Upper Manya Krobo
district of Ghana. A total of 32 child growth monitoring centers were randomly assigned to either of two
intervention groups [integrated nutrition and agriculture education (IE) or nutrition education (NE)], or
the control (CT) group. Over six months, mothers of children 6-24 months old in both intervention groups
received monthly nutrition education delivered by community health volunteers; additionally, mothers in
the IE group received agricultural education from extension agents. Information on complementary feeding
practices and dietary intakes of study children were collected at baseline and at three-month intervals for
nine months. Intention-to-treat analysis was complemented by a sub-sample analysis to determine the
effect of attendance to education sessions on outcomes. At the end of the study, children in the IE were
twice as likely to meet the minimum meal frequency compared to the CT children (aOR = 2.62; 95% CI; 1.11,
6.16), but energy, calcium, and iron intakes from complementary foods did not differ between the three
groups. Additionally, children of mothers who attended at least one nutrition education session in the IE
group tended to receive the minimum acceptable diet (aOR = 2.30, 95% CI; 0.98, 5.39, p = 0.055) compared
to children in the CT group at the end of the study. Compliance to the intervention was low, with almost half
of intervention mothers (45%) never attending an education session. A combined agriculture and nutrition
education led to improved meal frequency among young children in the Upper Manya Krobo district of
Ghana. Thus, this is one of the strategies that can be used to address sub-optimal complementary feeding
practices in rural areas, where farming is a major source of employment.
