Household Food Insecurity, Dietary Diversity, and Stunting in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Systematic Review.

BACKGROUND

The significant public health problem in Sub-Saharan Africa of household food insecurity is an underlying cause of malnutrition in Sub-Saharan Africa. This study aims to systematically study the association between household food insecurity, dietary diversity, and stunting.

METHODS

This review was carried out based on the recommendations of PRISMA (2015). We searched the literature in six bibliographic databases: PubMed, EMBASE, Science Direct, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and Scopus. The research was based on studies conducted in Sub-Saharan Africa about household food insecurity, dietary diversity, and stunting and was published between 2009 and 2020.

RESULTS

Out of 2398 original articles identified, only 21 articles met the specific requirements of this review. Two-thirds of the articles selected showed that stunting was linked to household food insecurity and dietary diversity.

CONCLUSIONS

This study found that household food insecurity and dietary diversity are significantly associated with stunting in Sub-Saharan Africa. This review recommends that in order to yield a sustainable fight against childhood malnutrition in Sub-Saharan Africa, reliable guidelines and strategies are needed to address these factors related to malnutrition.