Examining the Relationship Between Adult Education Participation and Nutritional Outcomes in Households in North East Nigeria

This study examines the relationship between adult education participation and household nutritional outcomes in North East Nigeria, filling a gap in the evidence base on adult education's contribution to food security and nutrition in conflict-affected zones. North East Nigeria faces persistent acute malnutrition, driven by conflict displacement, agricultural disruption, and limited access to nutrition information. Adult education programmes that incorporate nutrition literacy alongside functional literacy skills offer a potential pathway to improved household feeding practices. This study uses a cross-sectional survey design with longitudinal follow-up, collecting household dietary data from 350 households in Borno, Gombe, and Taraba States at baseline and 12-month follow-up. Adult education exposure is measured by participation in programmes that include nutrition content. Nutritional outcomes include household dietary diversity score, minimum acceptable diet rates for children under five, and maternal nutritional knowledge. Difference-in-differences analysis and instrumental variable estimation address endogeneity of programme participation. Findings reveal that adult education with nutrition content significantly improves household dietary diversity and maternal nutritional knowledge scores. The effect on child minimum acceptable diet is mediated by maternal nutritional knowledge and household income change. Programmes combining literacy, nutrition, and livelihood components produce the strongest composite nutritional outcomes. The study concludes that nutrition-integrated adult education is an effective nutrition intervention modality for North East Nigeria. It recommends a nutrition-literacy integration standard for all UNICEF and state government adult education programmes in high-malnutrition northern states.

Keywords: nutrition literacy, adult education, household nutrition, North East Nigeria, food security.