We combine data from the 2006 and 2011 Uganda Demographic and Health Surveys (UDHS) with rainfall data and two waves of the Ugandan National Household Survey (UNHS) to study patterns in child weight, as measured by weight-for-height z scores (WHZ), among 3492 rural children below age 5 in Uganda. We focus on rainfall as a nutrition driver along agriculture and disease pathways. We find a positive and significant association between crop yield and WHZ, but the magnitude of this association diminishes as we control for covariates, especially the use of productivity-enhancing agricultural inputs. We find diarrheal disease to have a negative and significant association with WHZ, and modifying effects of social and environmental factors along the disease pathway. Contemporaneous rainfall is associated with a lower likelihood of diarrheal disease in areas with excess rainfall and a higher likelihood of diarrheal disease in rainfall deficit areas. Our findings reinforce calls for targeted and situation-sensitive policies to promote child nutrition.

我们将2006年和2011年乌干达人口与健康调查（UDHS）的数据与降雨数据以及两次乌干达全国家庭调查（UNHS）结合起来，研究了以身高体重比重（WHZ）衡量的儿童体重模式），在乌干达3492名5岁以下的农村儿童中。我们将降雨作为农业和疾病途径的营养驱动力。我们发现农作物产量与WHZ之间存在正向的显着关联，但是随着我们控制协变量（尤其是提高生产力的农业投入的使用），这种关联的程度会减小。我们发现腹泻病与WHZ呈负相关且显着相关，并改变了疾病途径中社会和环境因素的影响。在降雨过多的地区，同期降雨与腹泻病的可能性较低有关，而在降雨不足的地区，腹泻病的可能性较高。我们的发现进一步呼吁采取针对性和对情况敏感的政策来促进儿童营养。