Description

Abstract: We tested the hypothesis that children of caregivers engaged in Animal Source Food (ASF)-related Income Generating Activities (IGA) were more likely to consume ASF than children of caregivers engaged in IGA unrelated to ASF. Data were collected via interviewer administered survey questionnaires with caregivers of young children in two rural communities from each of the three ecological zones (coastal, forest transitional and interior savannah zones) of Ghana. Approximately 84% of the 529 caregivers who were interviewed engaged in IGAs: of these approximately 31% (n=156) were engaged in an ASF-related IGA. Caregivers engaged in ASF-related IGA earned about 13,000 Ghanaian cedis (US$1.42) more per week than caregivers engaged in IGA unrelated to ASF, but this difference was not statistically significant. Children’s consumption of ASF differed by ecological zone. After controlling for the effect of ecological zone, children of caregivers engaged in ASF-related IGA were significantly more likely to have consumed organ meats, shellfish, and milk in the past week than children of caregivers engaged in IGA unrelated to ASF. A caregiver being engaged in an ASF-related IGA was not a significant predictor of their children’s ASF diversity score. However, in the coastal and forest zones, children of caregivers engaged in ASF-related IGA tended to have higher mean dietary ASF diversity scores than children of caregivers engaged in IGA unrelated to ASF. Caregivers’ engagement in ASF-related IGA may be beneficial to children’s dietary ASF intakes. Therefore, efforts to promote ASF-related IGA among more caregivers in the communities studied are likely to improve children’s ASF intakes.