Poor dietary quality is a significant risk factor for stunting and micronutrient deficiencies among young children and globally one of the leading causes of premature death and disease (Arimond & Ruel, 2004; Forouzanfar et al., 2015). Dietary quality is typically proxied by diversity of the consumed diet. Foods with similar nutritional qualities are first grouped together and dietary diversity is measured by the number of different food groups consumed in a certain time interval. For example, the World Health Organization recommends that children 6-23 months consume at least from four food groups (out of seven) every day. Based on this metric, Ethiopian children in this age range consume one of the least diversified diets in sub-Saharan Africa (Hirvonen, 2016) with only 14 percent meeting the WHO recommendation (CSA & ICF, 2016). Recent analysis of the timing of growth faltering of young children suggests that poor complementary feeding practices, including poor dietary quality, is an important risk factor for stunting in Ethiopia (Hirvonen, Headey, Golan, & Hoddinott, 2019). The available evidence suggests that diets are monotonous also at the household level. For example, in 2011, the average Ethiopian household consumed only 42 kg of fruits and vegetables in a year per adult equivalent (Hassen Worku, Dereje, Minten, & Hirvonen, 2017) – far below the World Health Organization’s recommendation of 146 kg per year (Hall, Moore, Harper, & Lynch, 2009). This report is structured as follows. In the subsequent section we describe the data used in this report. In section 3, we assess the consumption of nutritious foods among vulnerable groups: young children and mothers. In section 4, we assess the production of nutritious foods in the region. In section 5, we study the availability of nutritious foods in rural markets. In section 6, we assess the affordability of nutritious foods in the region. Section 7 concludes and summarizes the findings.

Poor dietary quality is a significant risk factor for stunting and micronutrient deficiencies among young children and globally one of the leading causes of premature death and disease (Arimond & Ruel, 2004; Forouzanfar et al., 2015). Dietary quality is typically proxied by diversity of the consumed diet. Foods with similar nutritional qualities are first grouped together and dietary diversity is measured by the number of different food groups consumed in a certain time interval. For example, the World Health Organization recommends that children 6-23 months consume at least from four food groups (out of seven) every day. Based on this metric, Ethiopian children in this age range consume one of the least diversified diets in sub-Saharan Africa (Hirvonen, 2016) with only 14 percent meeting the WHO recommendation (CSA & ICF, 2016). Recent analysis of the timing of growth faltering of young children suggests that poor complementary feeding practices, including poor dietary quality, is an important risk factor for stunting in Ethiopia (Hirvonen, Headey, Golan, & Hoddinott, 2019). The available evidence suggests that diets are monotonous also at the household level. For example, in 2011, the average Ethiopian household consumed only 42 kg of fruits and vegetables in a year per adult equivalent (Hassen Worku, Dereje, Minten, & Hirvonen, 2017) – far below the World Health Organization’s recommendation of 146 kg per year (Hall, Moore, Harper, & Lynch, 2009). This report is structured as follows. In the subsequent section, we describe the data used in this report. In section 3, we assess the consumption of nutritious foods among vulnerable groups: young children and mothers. In section 4, we assess the production of nutritious foods in the region. In section 5, we study the availability of nutritious foods in rural markets. In section 6, we assess the affordability of nutritious foods in the region. Section 7 concludes and summarizes the findings.

Poor dietary quality is a significant risk factor for stunting and micronutrient deficiencies among young children and globally one of the leading causes of premature death and disease (Arimond & Ruel, 2004; Forouzanfar et al., 2015). Dietary quality is typically proxied by diversity of the consumed diet. Foods with similar nutritional qualities are first grouped together and dietary diversity is measured by the number of different food groups consumed in a certain time interval. For example, the World Health Organization recommends that children 6-23 months consume at least from four food groups (out of seven) every day. Based on this metric, Ethiopian children in this age range consume one of the least diversified diets in sub-Saharan Africa (Hirvonen, 2016) with only 14 percent meeting the WHO recommendation (CSA & ICF, 2016). Recent analysis of the timing of growth faltering of young children suggests that poor complementary feeding practices, including poor dietary quality, is an important risk factor for stunting in Ethiopia (Hirvonen, Headey, Golan, & Hoddinott, 2019). The available evidence suggests that diets are monotonous also at the household level. For example, in 2011, the average Ethiopian household consumed only 42 kg of fruits and vegetables in a year per adult equivalent (Hassen Worku, Dereje, Minten, & Hirvonen, 2017) – far below the World Health Organization’s recommendation of 146 kg per year (Hall, Moore, Harper, & Lynch, 2009). This report is structured as follows. In the subsequent section, we describe the data used in this report. In section 3, we assess the consumption of nutritious foods among vulnerable groups: young children and mothers. In section 4, we assess the production of nutritious foods in the region. In section 5, we study the availability of nutritious foods in rural markets. In section 6, we assess the affordability of nutritious foods in the region. Section 7 concludes and summarizes the findings.

Poor dietary quality is a significant risk factor for stunting and micronutrient deficiencies among young children and globally one of the leading causes of premature death and disease (Arimond & Ruel, 2004; Forouzanfar et al., 2015). Dietary quality is typically proxied by diversity of the consumed diet. Foods with similar nutritional qualities are first grouped together and dietary diversity is measured by the number of different food groups consumed in a certain time interval. For example, the World Health Organization recommends that children 6-23 months consume at least four food groups (out of seven) every day. Based on this metric, Ethiopian children in this age range consume one of the least diversified diets in sub-Saharan Africa (Hirvonen, 2016) with only 14 percent meeting the WHO recommendation (CSA & ICF, 2016). Recent analysis of the timing of growth faltering of young children suggests that poor complementary feeding practices, including poor dietary quality, is an important risk factor for stunting in Ethiopia (Hirvonen, Headey, Golan, & Hoddinott, 2019). The available evidence suggests that diets are monotonous also at the household level. For example, in 2011, the average Ethiopian household consumed only 42 kg of fruits and vegetables in a year per adult equivalent (Hassen Worku, Dereje, Minten, & Hirvonen, 2017) – far below the World Health Organization’s recommendation of 146 kg per year (Hall, Moore, Harper, & Lynch, 2009). This report is structured as follows. In the subsequent section, we describe the data used in this report. In section 3, we assess the consumption of nutritious foods among young children and also carry out a similar assessment at the household level. In section 4, we study the production of nutritious foods in the region. In section 5, we examine the availability of nutritious foods in rural markets. In section 6, we assess the affordability of nutritious foods in the region. Section 7 concludes and summarizes the findings.

Ethiopia has witnessed significant reductions in child mortality, undernutrition, and communicable diseases, but more substantial and faster progress is still needed. The rise in obesity and in noncommunicable diseases, particularly in urban areas, is alarming and requires urgent policy and programmatic attention. Unhealthy diets drive both undernutrition and obesity and are the underlying cause of significant proportion of both communicable and non-communicable diseases. Maintaining the relatively high breastfeeding practices and increasing the diversity of diets will be critical to improving nutrition in Ethiopia. Implementation of effective nutrition messaging that shapes consumer behavior to adopt healthy dietary patterns, while bridging gaps in both the reach and the quality of such messaging is warranted. The health extension program, which is the cornerstone of the transformation of the health sector, may need to be redesigned in a way that improves its reach and the quality of the services it provides and minimizes the risk of burnout of frontline health workers. Interventions focusing on making healthy diets available, affordable, and accessible are urgently needed.

Eggs have high potential for improving nutrition outcomes in low-income countries, yet very few children in such settings consume eggs on a regular basis despite widespread poultry ownership. To redress this disconnect, a number of interventions have been implemented to improve household production of poultry products, as well as caregiver awareness of the nutritional benefits of eggs and other animal-sourced foods. However, very few of these interventions have tried to leverage food markets to improve nutrition, even though most rural people predominantly rely on markets for the majority of their non-staple food consumption. This study was implemented to better understand the constraints to purchasing eggs for consumption by young children in rural Ethiopia, with a view to informing the design of marketoriented interventions that might cost-effectively increase children’s egg consumption. To do so we analyzed secondary datasets on poultry ownership, household and child egg consumption, and retail egg prices to understand egg markets and the egg value chain in Tigray. Similar to other contexts in sub-Saharan Africa, we find that two-thirds of households own poultry, though only onequarter of young children consumed eggs in the past 24 hours. Although markets in Tigray are well integrated – likely because of the important role of egg aggregators – egg prices remain high. A modest consumption level of 2.5 eggs per person per week would cost around 10 percent of the total budget of households in the poorest quintile of households, even though eggs are more affordable than other animal-sourced foods. We find that egg consumption among young children is not constrained by fasting associated with Orthodox Christianity. High prices are likely the main constraint and are a function of low levels of intensification in egg production, which is dominated by backyard poultry systems characterized by high mortality rates and low productivity.

Seasonality in agricultural production continues to shape intra-annual food availability and prices in low-income countries. Using high-frequency panel data from northern Ethiopia, this study attempts to quantify seasonal fluctuations in children's weights. In line with earlier studies, we document considerable seasonality in children’s age and height adjusted weights. While children located closer to local food markets are better nourished compared to their counterparts residing in more remote areas, their weights are also subject to considerable seasonality. Further analysis provides evidence that children located closer to food markets consume more diverse diets than those located farther away. However, the content of these diets varies across seasons: children are less likely to consume animal source foods during the lean season.