Determinants of suboptimal complementary feeding practices among children aged 6–23 months in four anglophone W est A frican countries

Suboptimal complementary feeding practices have a detrimental impact on a child's growth, health and development in the first two years of life. They lead to child malnutrition, which contributes to the high prevalence of stunting (38%) and underweight (28%) reported for children <5 years of age in S ub‐ S aharan A frica. This study analysed complementary feeding practices in four anglophone W est A frican countries ( G hana, L iberia, N igeria and S ierra L eone) using the most recent D emographic and H ealth S urveys. The study covered 12 623 children aged 6–23 months from four anglophone W est A frican countries ( G hana: 822 children: L iberia: 1458 children, N igeria: 8786 children and S ierra L eone: 1557 children). Four complementary feeding indicators were examined against a set of individual‐, household‐ and community‐level factors, using multiple regression analysis. Multivariate analyses found that lack of post‐natal contacts with health workers, maternal illiteracy and geographical region were common determinants of delayed introduction of solid, semi‐solid or soft foods across all four countries. Predictors for minimum dietary diversity, minimum meal frequency and minimum acceptable diet included children aged 6–11 months, administrative/geographical region, poorer household income and limited access to media. The authors recommend that the four anglophone W est A frican countries studied should prioritise efforts to improve complementary feeding practices in order to reduce child morbidity and mortality. Interventional studies on complementary feeding should target those from poor and illiterate households.