Abstract

Despite sustained investment and numerous interventions, the global burden of malnutrition remains a critical public health concern. While some progress has been made in reducing undernutrition, the prevalence of obesity is rising and now constitutes a significant cause of mortality. Nutrition-related challenges have expanded beyond traditional indicators, such as underweight and obesity, to include both overweight and micronutrient deficiencies. Malnutrition in all its forms adversely affects long-term outcomes in education, workforce productivity, social cohesion, and economic development. This context underscores the need for policymakers to develop targeted, area-specific public health strategies that address multiple forms of malnutrition concurrently. Nevertheless, evidence remains limited regarding the prevalence of double and triple burdens of malnutrition and their long-term impacts on education, socio-emotional skills, and mental health. Accordingly, this thesis investigates the epidemiological evolution of malnutrition, the influence of broader socio-ecological factors, and the life course consequences of these conditions. The findings demonstrate that Ethiopia is experiencing both double and triple burdens of malnutrition, with various socio-ecological and socioeconomic factors contributing to these patterns. Furthermore, the results indicate that malnutrition exerts significant life course effects on educational attainment, socioemotional skills, and mental health.

Speaker

Getenet Dessie is a PhD candidate in the Department of Health Economics, Wellbeing, and Society at the National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health (NCEPH), Australian National University. He is supervised by Dr. Tinh Doan, A/Prof. Son Nghiem, and Dr. Jinhu Li. Before commencing his PhD, he worked full-time at the College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Bahir Dar University, Ethiopia. Over the course of his career, Getenet has produced a substantial number of articles in peer-reviewed journals. His research focuses on malnutrition, communicable diseases, and non-communicable diseases. He has strong expertise and research interests in communicable and non-communicable disease modelling, linked and longitudinal data analysis, advanced statistical analysis using Bayesian approaches, disease causation modelling (including mediation analysis), geospatial analysis, advanced econometric methods, and systematic reviews and meta-analyses.