• Teboho Letuka and Sasha Frade.
• Faculty of Humanities, Demography and Population Studies, Schools of Social Sciences and Public Health, University of the Witwatersrand, Private bag 3 Wits, 2050, Johannesburg, South Africa.
• Afr Health Sci. 2020 Sep 1; 20 (3): 1478-1486.

BackgroundAnaemia among under-5 children is a major public health issue worldwide. Some countries with a high prevalence of anaemia also have high prevalence of malaria. Even though Lesotho does not have a high prevalence of malaria, its prevalence rate of anaemia is as high. According to the 2014 Lesotho Demographic and Health Survey (DHS), the prevalence of anaemia among children under-5 was 51%. Other factors could be influencing the prevalence of anaemia in Lesotho.ObjectivesThis study examined the household and individual risk factors of anaemia among children under-5 in Lesotho.MethodsData from the 2014 Lesotho DHS which included 924 children under-5 years were analysed. Descriptive statistics, chi-square cross-tabulations and ordered logistic regression models were run using Stata v15.ResultsTwenty-one percent (21%) of children under-5 had mild anaemia while 7% had severe-moderate anaemia. Children residing in households cooking with biogas (aOR=4.88, CI: 1.28-18.58) and those living in households that cook with biomass (aOR=4.22, CI: 1.40-12.67) had higher odds of severe-moderate anaemia.ConclusionUsing solid fuels for cooking increases the vulnerability of children under-5 developing anaemia. Therefore, knowledge of renewable energy resources should be increased. This will help reduce levels of anaemia among under-5 children in Lesotho.© 2020 Letuka T et al.

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