Low awareness and affordability are major drivers of low consumption of animal-source foods among children in northern Ethiopia: a mixed-methods study

Animal‐source foods (ASFs), contain high amounts of essential nutrients that arereadily absorbed by the body. However, children in resource‐constrained settingsoften have limited access to these nutritious foods. This study aimed to investigatethe reasons for the low consumption of ASFs among children in the Amhara regionof Ethiopia. A community‐based mixed‐methods study was conducted, usingexploratory qualitative methods supplemented by the analysis of secondary datafrom the Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey (EDHS). The qualitative studyemployed a multiphase stepwise design and the maximum variation purposivesampling technique, enroling a diverse range of participants such as mothers and/orcaregivers, household heads, religious and community leaders, health and nutritionexperts, and others. The qualitative data were analysed using a thematic frameworkanalysis method, while the quantitative data were analysed using SPSS v22 statisticalsoftware. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to identify thepredictors of ASFs among children under 5 years of age in the region. Despite thelarge and diverse livestock populations available, only 13.2% of children consumedat least one animal‐source food (ASF) in the prior day. The most consumed ASFswere dairy and eggs, whereas beef, organ meat, and seafood were the least con-sumed. Household demographics such as residence, literacy level, paternal age, andhousehold wealth quintiles influenced the overall consumption of ASFs. The mainreasons for the low consumption of ASFs among children were unaffordability andpoor awareness among caregivers. In addition, religious misconceptions, price hikes,limited availability during certain seasons, low productivity, insufficient support fromhealth professionals, and time constraints for caregivers were also mentioned assignificant barriers to ASF consumption in the area. The consumption of ASFs amongchildren in Ethiopia, particularly in the Amhara region, remains very low. This ismainly due to the caregivers' levels of awareness and unaffordability of ASFs. It isrecommended that behavioural and sociocultural interventions be implemented thattarget caregivers to improve the consumption of ASFs among children