Safely managed sanitation practice and childhood stunting among under five years old children in Myanmar

In 2020, 149 million children under the age of five were estimated to be
stunted globally. Around half of deaths among children under 5 years of
age are related to under-nutrition. The objective of this study is to
determine the association between safely managed sanitation and childhood
stunting among under-five-year-old children in Myanmar. This
cross-sectional analytical study was conducted in 16 townships across
three regions and five states in Myanmar. Multiple logistic regression
analyses were performed to determine the associations. This study found
that 327 (27.09%) under-five children were stunted among a total of 1207
children in Myanmar. Children with unsafely managed sanitation were 2.88
times more likely to be stunting compared with children who had access to
safely managed sanitation services (AOR=2.88, 95% CI: 2.16 to 3.85;
p-value <0.01). Other associated factors for childhood stunting
were: needs 1–15 minutes for water collection (AOR=2.07, 95% CI: 1.46 to
2.94; p-value <0.01), 15–60 minutes for water collection times
(AOR=1.55, 95% CI: 1.08 to 2.23; p-value 0.02), unproper waste water
disposal (AOR=1.99, 95% CI: 1.47 to 2.70; p-value <0.01), male
children (AOR=4.49, 95% CI: 3.30 to 6.12; p-value <0.01), did not
take vitamin A supplements(AOR=1.64, 95% CI: 1.22 to 2.20; p-value
<0.01), mothers height shorter than 153.4cm (AOR=1.94, 95% CI: 1.45
to 2.58; p-value <0.01), and the lower minimal diet diversity
(AOR=1.53, 95% CI: 1.11 to 1.87; p-value 0.02). More access to safely
managed sanitation facilities, technical sharing for proper wastewater
disposal, promoting household water supply system, health promotion for
children's diet eating patterns, and regular support for Vitamin A
supplementation are critical to reduce childhood stunting among children
under the age of five in Myanmar.