Household Food insecurity and Child Survival: Implications for child mortality in Ogun State Nigeria

Millions of people around the world are suffering from food shortages and hunger. Children and pregnant women are at risk of becoming permanently malnourished. It is therefore, imperative to provide adequate information about the dynamics of food insecurity at the household level as well as the nutrient intake of nursing mothers and their children as it affects their health. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used to collect information. From the study, it was revealed that only 10% can afford appropriate nutrition for their children based on the nutritional chart provided during the survey. Thirteen percent of the respondents indicated that their children had anaemia four weeks preceding the survey. The logistic regression shows that women’s socio-economic status and nutritional intake are the predisposing factors for likelihood of having illness among infants in the study area. The study concludes that households should be encouraged to practise irrigated farming