Malnutrition and Associated Factors Among Internally Displaced Under Five Children in Debrebirhan IDP Camps, Amhara Region, Ethiopia

Abstract Introduction By 2024, the world internal displacement had been 75.9 million people, with 68.3 million displaced by violence and conflict. In Ethiopia, as of May 2024, the internally displaced total was approximately 3.3 million in 2,739 locations. Undernutrition remains prevalent, with four undernourished children dying each minute and one in every four survivors with stunting, leading to impaired development. The World Health Organization identifies malnutrition as a primary indicator of children's health inequity. Objectives To determine the prevalence of malnutrition and associated factors among internally displaced under five children in Debre Berhan internally displaced people camps, 2024, Amhara Region, Ethiopia. Methods Community based cross-sectional quantitative study was conducted among 448 internally displaced children in Debre Berhan town, with the help of structured interviews and anthropometric measurement was computed the Z score value by using World Health Organization Anthro software. Data analysis was done using SPSS Version 25, with association calculated through adjusted odds ratio and 95% confidence interval. Statistical significance was at p values < 0.05. Result The overall prevalence of malnutrition among the 448 internally displaced children was 26.7% (n = 120) (95% CI: 22.6% to 30.8%). Out of this, the prevalence of underweight, wasting, and stunting was 9.8%, 11.8%, and 15.6%, respectively. Among the study participants of under five children about 231 (51.6%) were males and remaining 213 (48.4) were females. The age ranged from 7 month and 59 months old. Conclusion The prevalence of malnutrition among internally displaced children in Debre Berhan remains a significant public health concern. The prevalence of wasting (11.8%) is in a range of high severity category based on WHO severity classification, indicating to an urgent targeted interventions focusing on improving child feeding practices, infection prevention and strengthening child health services such as vitamin A supplementation and deworming are recommended.