A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE
REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE IN HUMAN
NUTRITION OF SOKOINE UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE.
MOROGORO, TANZANIA. 2017
The aim of this study was to assess the effect of behaviour change intervention on child's
nutritional status among Mwanzo Bora Nutrition Program (MBNP) beneficiaries in
Mvomero district and Morogoro Municipality as a case study. A total of 280 mothers with
their children between 25 and 59 months old were randomly sampled equally from two
wards per district. Data for respective study population were collected by using a
structured questionnaire. Measurements of heights and weights of the sampled children
were taken and analyzed for nutrition status using ENA for SMART 2011 software.
Descriptive statistics were carried out while T-test and Chi-square test were done to
determine relationship between variables by using SPSS version 16 software. Prevalence
of underweight, stunting and wasting in Mvomero district did not differ significantly
(p>0.05) between MBNP and non-MBNP respondents. However, in Morogoro
Municipality stunting was less prevalent among MBNP (8.6%) compared to non-MBNP
(34.3%) respondent (p≤0.05). Early antenatal care (ANC) booking behaviour was
observed among MBNP participants whereby more than 60% started ANC clinic within
first trimester compared to less than 50% of non-MBNP households in both districts.
Exclusive breastfeeding practice was well complied by about 70% of MBNP participants
compared to less than 50% of non-MBNP in both districts. In both districts, the
consumption of vegetables and fruits was also reported to have increased by more than
75% of the respondents following MBNP interventions. Also positive perception towards
MBNP was observed by the majority of the respondents in both Mvomero district
(95.7%) and Morogoro Municipality (84.3%). This study revealed significant contribution
of behaviour change communication (BCC) approaches implemented by MBNP in
improving child nutrition. There is a need to make use of gained experiences from MBNP
in implementing other nutrition interventions.