Assessment of Nutritional Status of Almajirai Children in Zamfara State, Nigeria

Abstract

The paper examined the nutritional status of almajirai children in Zamfara State, Nigeria. Almajirai (singular -almajiri) are children who have left their parents from rural areas in Nigeria or migrated from neighboring African countries to big cities in Northern Nigeria to undergo training in Islamic knowledge. As a result of poverty, these children do not receive any support from their families or government. In other to survive, they move from house to house or popular motor parks in major cities in Nigeria begging for food to eat. It is in the light of the above that the paper examines the nutritional status of almajirai children in Zamfara State, Nigeria. The sample size of the study consisted of 385 almajiri children. Anthropometric measurements were be used as the instruments of data collection. Data collected was analyzed using SPSS. The findings of the study indicated that there was no significant difference in the weight of Almajirai children across all the age categories. The hypothesis of the study showed that there was a significant difference between the almajiri children suffering from stunted growth, underweight and wastage in Zamfara State. The mean difference suggests that the malnutrition was more severe in Kaura Namoda than any other local government given that it has the highest mean difference of 1. 3618.  The paper concludes that an average almajiri child in Zamfara State is malnourished. The recommends that almajiri children should be included into the Federal Government school feeding programme so that they can have access to good nutritional food and formal education for a better future.