Table 4 Focus groups discussion concerning care practices and food distribution

Care practices

- No special food.

- Porridge most of the time.

- Treatment at home until situation become worse.

- Use herbal tea.

- Tablets.

- If you have money you can go to the hospital otherwise you start treatment at home first with herbal teas or go to the healers.

- It is more often treated at home first.

- When it takes too long time for healing we go to hospital.

- We give the usual food but more often porridge because at this moment child don’t want to eat. We give him food if he doesn’t like we try other things.

- If it is the measles, we don’t give peanut. He does not wear clothes.

- Give mostly porridge, and some others like rice, paste if he likes.

- We treat at home first, hospital is expensive. Go there when it is very serious and has worsened.

- We give tablets we have at home.

- We prepare herbal teas. Grandmothers show us leaves and we prepare. We give as drink or wash them with. The fever goes off quickly.

- We treat at home first we prepare herbal tea if after three days he is still sick we go to the hospital.

- He eats usual food and what he likes. When they are sick, they don’t take foods too fat. It is not good.

- When they cough or have digestive problems, they cannot eat okra.

Most mothers said they treat their children at home using tablets or herbal tea and only go to the hospital when the condition worsens. They also said that they get or listen to the advice from the children’s grandmothers on how to care for their children. They primarily give maize porridge to the child during sickness and when he/she gets better, normal family food is given.

Food distribution

- Children received first and then men are served.

- As soon as you finish preparing you serve them.

- Children are served first immediately you finish cooking.

- Fathers are outside they may have found something to eat outside, and child would be fasting at home? Children are served first.

- They are served first but the large portions of meat or fish are reserved to fathers.

- Dad is served first. Dad’s portion is first removed after cooking.

- It is children who is served first. They are hungry and need more food than adults. But it’s for dad the best part, the big fish/meat.

- Serve my children first after their father and me.

- Children are served first.

- Children are served first and after men are served but the good portion of fish or meat is reserved to the father.

Most mothers said children are served first, but the men receive the ‘best’ part of the meals, and in some households, the men are served first, or their portions are removed before serving the children and other members of the household.