Analysis of Factors Associated with Low Scores for Household Food Consumption and Diversity in the Yangambi City in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Abstract

Introduction : Food and nutritional security remain major public health concerns worldwide. The DRC is among the countries most affected, despite its resource potential. In Tshopo Province, particularly in Yangambi, poverty and adverse socioeconomic conditions contribute to inadequate, undiversified diets, according to the 2023 IPC analysis. Although the relationship between these factors and dietary scores has been documented internationally and in some African countries, there are few studies that specifically explore the determinants of food consumption and dietary diversity in local contexts in the DRC. This study aimed to analyze the factors associated with low household dietary intake and diversity scores in the City of Yangambi, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Methods : The study was conducted in the City of Yangambi, located in Tshopo Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It was a cross-sectional analytical study aimed at analyzing the factors associated with low dietary intake and dietary diversity scores among households in Yangambi. It was conducted between January and April 2026 among 614 households selected using two-stage probability cluster sampling. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire and analyzed using STATA software version 13. Factors associated with low dietary scores were assessed using multivariate logistic regression at a significance level of p Results : The majority of households in Yangambi had a borderline or poor food consumption score (71.5%) and an average dietary diversity score (75.4%). After adjustment using multivariate logistic regression, the age of the household head, educational level, household size, average monthly household income, and the household’s village of origin remained significantly associated with food consumption and diversity scores. Households headed by older, more educated heads of household with higher incomes, as well as smaller households, were more likely to have better dietary scores compared to other categories. Conclusion : This study shows that several sociodemographic and socioeconomic factors, including the age and educational level of the head of household, household size, average monthly household income, and village of origin, were associated with household food security scores in the city of Yangambi. These results underscore the need to focus multisectoral food security interventions on improving the socioeconomic and dietary conditions of households in rural areas of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.