Lingering hunger among primary school pupils residing in rural areas of Borno State, North- Eastern Nigeria: Implication for education and food supplementation programs

Abstract

Childhood hunger among rural settlers may be as a result of food insecurity, poor sanitation and illiteracy.
The aim of this study was to assess and classify malnutrition into underweight or obesity among primary
school pupils, and to provide information to policy makers on the need for education and food
supplementation programs. Four hundred primary school pupils from eight different schools in Bama and
Banki rural areas of Borno state were selected using the cluster random sampling method. While the WHO Zscoring
method was used to estimate malnutrition, food, dietary habits and physical activities were assessed
by way of focal group discussions. Student t test was used to compare means and to test for significance of
data. There were 220 (55 %) boys and 180 (45 %) girls in a ratio of 1.2:1. While 248 (62 %) pupils belong to low
socioeconomic class, 200 (50 %) were found within 11-13 years age bracket. Overall mean age (SD) was 9
(2.73), 95 CI (6.89-11.11) years. Mean (SD) number of pupils with normal BMI and those with underweight BMI
levels were 31.3 (19.01) and 102 (42.8) respectively, and comparison of this means was significant (p< 0.0001).
None of our participants was found to be obese in this study. Dietary intake of 272 (68 %) subjects was
inadequate in quality and quantity. Most participants 320 (80 %) trek to school, and nearly all subjects 360
(90%) participate in physical education. Large numbers of our study population were underweight, and the
proportion of underweight children increased with age. This data suggest the need for education and food
supplementation programs geared towards prevention and treating malnutrition in our cohorts.