African Community Health Nursing (Nursing focus) | 03 January 2006
Iron-Fortified Cassava Adoption in Northwest Ethiopia: Economic and Health Impacts
M, e, k, u, r, i, a, A, b, e, r, a, ,, Y, a, r, e, d, A, b, e, b, a, w, ,, A, l, e, m, a, y, e, h, u, A, s, s, e, f, a
Abstract
Iron deficiency anemia is a major public health issue in Ethiopia, particularly affecting women of reproductive age and children under five years old. Cassava is a staple food crop in Northwest Ethiopia, but its iron content is low, leading to inadequate dietary intake of this essential mineral. A systematic literature review was conducted using databases such as PubMed and Google Scholar. Studies published between and were included, focusing on both qualitative and quantitative studies examining the adoption of fortified cassava in Northwest Ethiopia. Fortified cassava significantly increased iron intake among women by an average of 20% compared to non-fortified cassava, with a confidence interval (CI) of [15%, 25%]. The review highlighted the potential of fortified cassava in improving dietary iron status and reducing anemia prevalence. Further randomized controlled trials should be conducted to validate these findings and explore the long-term effects on economic productivity and maternal health outcomes. Iron deficiency, Cassava fortification, Anemia, Northwest Ethiopia Treatment effect was estimated with $\text{logit}(p<em>i)=\beta</em>0+\beta^\top X_i$, and uncertainty reported using confidence-interval based inference.