TITLE:
Minimum Acceptable Diet in Infants Aged 6 - 18 Months Exposed to HIV and Followed-Up through the Elimination Program of Mother to Child Transmission in Ouagadougou
AUTHORS:
Angèle Kalmogho, Sandrine Kabore, Chantal Zoungrana, Caroline Yonaba, Irène Ouédraogo, Flore Ouédraogo, Fla Koueta
KEYWORDS:
Minimum Acceptable Diet, Infants Exposed to HIV, Associated Factors, Ouagadougou
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Pediatrics,
Vol.15 No.5,
September
3,
2025
ABSTRACT: Introduction: The minimum acceptable diet is a feeding indicator of infants and young children that improves children’s nutrition, growth and survival. The seropositive mothers are facing several challenges that could influence the feeding state of their infants exposed to HIV. This study aims to determine the associated factors of minimum acceptable diet in infants aged 6 to 18 months and exposed to HIV in the health facilities within the city of Ouagadougou. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted from October 1, 2019 to July 10, 2020 and involved 255 consenting seropositive mothers bearing infants aged 6 to 18 months and followed up through the elimination program of Mother to Child Transmission (eMTCT). A recall of 24-hour feeding was used to assess feeding indicators for infants and young children. The minimum acceptable diet is a composite indicator that englobes the minimum dietary diversity and the minimum daily meal frequency. The logistic regression through Stata 14 software helped identify the associated factors of minimal acceptable diet. Results: In our study, 20.78% of infants exposed to HIV had received a minimum acceptable diet; the infants exposed to HIV had respectively received a minimum dietary diversity and a minimum daily meal frequency in 27.54% and 77.25% of cases. The factors associated with a minimum acceptable diet were represented by infant age between 12 and 18 months (adjusted OR = 4.21; p = 0.002) and severe or mild/moderate food insecurity (adjusted OR = 0.06; p = 0.000 and adjusted OR = 0.23; p = 0.000). Conclusion: It is important to develop specific interventions targeting seropositive mothers and aiming at reinforcing their nutritional education and helping them fight against food insecurity.