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-va...