Vaccination of household chickens results in a shift in young children's diet and improves child growth in rural Kenya

• Published in: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS Vol. 119; no. 24; p. e2122389119
• Main Authors: Otiang, Elkanah, Yoder, Jonathan, Manian, Shanthi, Campbell, Zoë A, Thumbi, Samuel M, Njagi, Lucy W, Nyaga, Philip N, Palmer, Guy H
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States National Academy of Sciences 14-06-2022
• Subjects: Animal-based foods; Biological Sciences; Carbohydrates; Chickens; Children; Children & youth; Constraints; Diet; Farm income; Farms; Food; Food availability; Food production; Food sources; Group size; Heat affected zone; Height; High carbohydrate diet; Households; Immunization; Infectious diseases; Micronutrients; Newcastle disease; Nutrition; Poultry; Poverty; Rural areas; Rural communities; Social Sciences; Vaccination; Kenya; nutrition; animal source foods; household decisions; child growth
• ISSN: 0027-8424; 1091-6490
• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2122389119

SignificanceThis randomized, controlled trial demonstrates that by relieving a constraint on household nutritional assets, here through reducing chicken mortality through vaccination, households make dietary choices for young children that increase consumption of protein- and micronutrient-rich foods and decrease relative consumption of high-carbohydrate, low-protein grains. The study provides causal evidence that this shift in diet results in improved height for age, a key measure of childhood stunting. Given the high prevalence of childhood growth failure in rural Africa, these results highlight the potential to increase the utility of a common household animal asset to reduce the burden of childhood stunting in these communities.