Analyzing basic and underlying determinants of child malnutrition in Nepal

Abstract Nepal has a high prevalence of child malnutrition, with a current stunting rate of 37.4%. To overcome the problem, Nepal has set goals and targets at both national and international policy levels. However, Nepal faces serious policy challenges in achieving these goals due to its unstable social, economic and political environment, further aggravated by the devastating 2015 earthquake and current COVID-19 pandemic. In such a situation, it is imperative to design policy interventions that reflect prevailing socioeconomic context and vulnerable population groups. Our study utilized the most recent nationally representative MICS dataset to cover the literature gap on the post-earthquake analysis of child malnutrition. We analyzed the determinants of child malnutrition at different interdependent levels of basic and underlying factors using a series of multiple linear regressions based on the UNICEF (1990) framework. The study findings report that the main determinants of child malnutrition are the child’s age, gender, place of delivery, standard of living, caste or ethnicity and province. While household living standard remains one of the strongest predictors, as confirmed by previous studies, we find that socioeconomic and contextual aspects are critical factors that are to be accounted for while designing future policy interventions.

Nepal has a high prevalence of child malnutrition, with a current stunting rate of 37.4%. To overcome the problem, Nepal has set goals and targets at both national and international policy levels. However, Nepal faces serious policy challenges in achieving these goals due to its unstable social, economic and political environment, further aggravated by the devastating 2015 earthquake and current COVID-19 pandemic. In such a situation, it is imperative to design policy interventions that reflect prevailing socioeconomic context and vulnerable population groups. Our study utilized the most recent nationally representative MICS dataset to cover the literature gap on the post-earthquake analysis of child malnutrition. We analyzed the determinants of child malnutrition at different interdependent levels of basic and underlying factors using a series of multiple linear regressions based on the UNICEF (1990) framework. The study findings report that the main determinants of child malnutrition are the child’s age, gender, place of delivery, standard of living, caste or ethnicity and province. While household living standard remains one of the strongest predictors, as confirmed by previous studies, we find that socioeconomic and contextual aspects are critical factors that are to be accounted for while designing future policy interventions.