Multistakeholder nutrition sensitive interventions in improving households’ access to and consumption of diversified diet in east Hararghe zone of Ethiopia

There has been a persistent nutrition issue in Ethiopia. Therefore, this study was focused on measuring the nutritional status of rural households and examining stakeholders’ positions toward nutritional problems. Research methodology began with conducting a preliminary assessment with various stakeholders working in eastern Ethiopia. Then, five districts were selected purposively on the basis of the availability of international and local stakeholders working on food and nutrition security. Three kebeles from each district were randomly chosen. In the final stage, 385 households were selected randomly to collect primary data from farmers. In addition to this, 84 employees of stakeholders were purposively selected to gather primary data from stakeholders. Data was analyzed using SPSS and STATA. The Generalized Ordered Logit Model (GOLM) was applied to estimate the correlation between various factors and households’ nutritional status. Survey results revealed that 50% of the sampled households were in the category of low dietary diversity. The finding of the study also indicated that the average Household Dietary Diversity Score (HDDS) in eastern Ethiopia was 4.02, which was lower than the national HDDS of 5.42. Rural households also reported that stakeholders intervene for the production and consumption of nutrient-dense crops through several mechanisms. Finally, the econometric model result revealed that twelve variables had statistically significant associations with the nutritional status of rural households. Therefore, all stakeholders should pay attention to take action on nutrition-related concerns in eastern Ethiopia.