Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) in Uganda; Are Orphans More Malnourished Than Non-Orphans

Study Title: Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) in Uganda; Are Orphans More Malnourished Than Non-Orphans

Author: Lubaale Yovani A. Moses, School of Statistics and Planning formerly Institute of Statistics and Applied Economics, Makerere University, Kampala Uganda

Abstract: Many scholars and policy makers have often said that orphaned children are more vulnerable than any other children within the same environment in which they live. This paper compared the nutrition status of orphans and non-orphans to see if orphans were more malnourished and if not to investigate factors affecting nutrition of children. It is based on the 2006 Uganda Demographic and Health Survey data. The analysis compared orphans and non-orphaned children in relation to the three anthropometric measures of underweight, stunting and wasting limiting itself to -2SD. The findings indicated that orphans (wasting-33.1%, underweight-17.0% and stunted-5.9%) were not more malnourished than non-orphans (wasting-39.2%, underweight-17.2% and stunted-6.5%). Results showed that maternal orphans (48.2%) are affected more in terms of nutritional indicators at least in the short term than paternal orphans (29.0%). The most important determinant on nutrition was the household wealth index and level of education of the mother for children living with their mothers in the same households.

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