Nutritional Status of Street Children in Jijga-yer Sub-District, Hargeisa-Somaliland

Abstract

The study investigated the nutritional status of street children in the Jijga-yer sub-district, Hargeisa. A street child is any boy or girl under the age of 15 years who lives in the street as an abode and source of the livelihood. Nutritional status is the condition of a person’s health in relation to food intake and utilization of nutrients. The problem of the study was the prevalence of malnutrition among children, In July to October 2018, 17.72% of children were malnourished, which is an increase of 4.43% per month. Specifically, the study investigated the status of stunting, status of underweight and the status thinness among street children, using cross-sectional survey research design, on a convenient sample of 230 street children. The study found that there are significantly more normal than stunted street children, [χ² (3, N = 230) = 237.583, p = .000]; more normal than underweight street, [χ² (3, N = 230) = 150.348, p = .000]; and there are significantly more normal than street children in Jijga-yer, χ² (3, N = 201) = 56.532, p = .000. The study concludes that street children in Jijga-yer sub-district, Hargeisa are normal and had good nutritional status. The researcher recommends that the Ministry of Health Development provide a healthy feeding program to street children to ensure they develop appropriate weight.