Diarrhoea in Children Under Five Years of Age in Abuja-Nigeria - The Priliminary Study of the Risk Factors

Diarhoea is still one of the major disease affecting children under five years of age worldwide. It is a very common disease in sub Saharan Africa especially in Nigeria. Despite the current interventions of improving mothers’ knowledge of risk of diarhoea in their children, through delivery of diarrhea lectures in clinics and maternity centers, the rate under-five diarrhea is still increasing. This study has described the perceptions that may influence the occurrence of diarrhea and recurrent diarrhea in children under five years in Abuja. This study identified some of the risk factors through literatures and practical observations of cases in two different areas in Abuja; Asokoro - where the rich lives and Karu - populated by the low income earners. The prominent amongst the factors are mother’s education, family size, breast-feeding, source of water, developmental milestones, food hygiene, and personal hygiene. The obtained information might be used as a starting point to conducting the actual study on the subject matter with a long term goal to introduce possible interventions that will reduce the risk of diarrhea in children