{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,18]],"date-time":"2026-05-18T12:11:14Z","timestamp":1779106274054,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":39,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,18]],"date-time":"2026-05-18T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1779062400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Nutr."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Introduction<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) remains a public health concern, particularly among children in resource-limited settings. This study aimed to evaluate the consumption of vitamin A-rich foods and associated socioeconomic inequalities among children aged 6\u201323 months in Somalia.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Data from the 2020 Somalia Health and Demographic Survey (SHDS were analyzed, including a sample of 1,839 children. Multilevel binary logistic regression was used to identify determinants of vitamin A-rich food consumption. Concentration indices (CIX) were employed to assess socioeconomic inequalities. Statistical analyses were conducted using Stata 17 and R Studio.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      Only 29.7% of children consumed vitamin A-rich foods. Significant regional variations were observed. Multilevel analysis revealed that household wealth (\n                      <jats:italic>AOR<\/jats:italic>\n                      = 3.60, 95% CI: 2.23\u20135.78 for highest vs. lowest quintile), media access (\n                      <jats:italic>AOR<\/jats:italic>\n                      = 2.05, 95% CI: 1.41\u20132.98), paternal education (\n                      <jats:italic>AOR<\/jats:italic>\n                      = 1.83, 95% CI: 1.35\u20132.49), and antenatal care (ANC) attendance (\n                      <jats:italic>AOR<\/jats:italic>\n                      = 1.69, 95% CI: 1.09\u20132.62 for \u22651 visit) were significantly associated with vitamin A-rich food consumption. The relative CIX indicated substantial wealth-related (0.2533,\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      &amp;lt; 0.001) and education-related (0.1438,\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      &amp;lt; 0.001) inequalities.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Vitamin A-rich food consumption among young children in Somalia is low, with significant socioeconomic inequalities. Interventions should target low-income households, promote maternal education, improve access to media, and strengthen antenatal care services to enhance vitamin A intake. Furthermore, regional-specific interventions to promote vitamin A food are recommended.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Recommendations<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Policymakers should prioritize nutrition-sensitive social protection programs, strengthen antenatal care services, and implement targeted behavior change communication to improve vitamin A-rich food consumption. Vitamin A supplementation programs must be strengthened to ensure high coverage among children aged 6\u201359 months, especially in regions with the lowest intake. Future research should focus on longitudinal studies to assess the long-term impact of these interventions.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fnut.2026.1809278","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,18]],"date-time":"2026-05-18T11:18:02Z","timestamp":1779103082000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Determinants and socioeconomic inequalities in vitamin A-rich food consumption among children aged 6\u201323 months in Somalia: a multilevel analysis of the 2020 Somalia Health and Demographic Survey (SHDS)"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Asma Mahamoud","family":"Abdillahi","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Research and Innovation Center, Amoud University","place":["Borama, Somalia"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Abdirizak Hassan","family":"Abokor","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Research and Innovation Center, Amoud University","place":["Borama, Somalia"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Omer Adam","family":"Farih","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Research and Innovation Center, Amoud University","place":["Borama, Somalia"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Mustafe Abdillahi","family":"Ali","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Research and Innovation Center, Amoud University","place":["Borama, Somalia"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Saeed Hassan","family":"Mohamed","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Research and Innovation Center, Amoud University","place":["Borama, Somalia"]},{"name":"Institute of Social Science, Sel\u00e7uk University","place":["Konya, T\u00fcrkiye"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ahmed Adan","family":"Abdi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Research and Innovation Center, Amoud University","place":["Borama, Somalia"]},{"name":"College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Hargeisa","place":["Hargeisa, Somalia"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Awale Ali","family":"Omer","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Research and Innovation Center, Amoud University","place":["Borama, Somalia"]},{"name":"Gabiley Mental Hospital","place":["Gabiley, Somalia"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Hafsa","family":"Mohamed","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Research and Innovation Center, Amoud University","place":["Borama, Somalia"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Abdisalam Hassan","family":"Muse","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Research and Innovation Center, Amoud University","place":["Borama, Somalia"]},{"name":"College of 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