Ausiku urges community action in addressing children-led households

Kavango West governor Sirrka Ausiku has called on village leaders and community committees to take proactive measures in identifying and supporting children living alone in households.

Addressing attendees during A regional small-scale horticulture award ceremony at Mavanze village in the Ncuncuni Constituency on Tuesday, Ausiku emphasised the importance of community involvement in safeguarding the well-being of vulnerable children.

“I visited the suspects in the alleged food poisoning incident in the hospital before coming here. I spoke with the doctor, and they are in stable condition,” Ausiku said.

The governor expressed concern over the recurring food poisoning cases at Mavanze village and called for immediate leadership intervention.

“I am urging the constituency councilor, headwoman and all parents to have an urgent meeting within a week to discuss the root cause of food poisoning,” Ausiku stressed.

Ausiku revealed that during her conversation with the affected children, she learned that they live alone, and urged community leaders to ask neighbours to care for children who had been identified as living alone.

This comes in the wake of an incident on Monday, where 16 people from Mavanze village were admitted to Rundu Intermediate Hospital with suspected food poisoning.

“The suspects consumed porridge and vegetables (pumpkin leaf) as a meal,” Ausiku explained.

She noted that the majority of those affected are youths under the age of 13.

The Namibian reported on a similar incident in the same village last month.

In January, Ministry of Health and Social Services public relations officer Walters Kamaya said the Rundu Intermediate Hospital received an influx of patients who drank sikundu (a drink made from a mixture of maize and mahangu) from the Ncuncuni constituency in the Kavango West region.

Twenty people were affected – ranging in age from an infant to 85 years old – and there were no deaths.

Some of those who were hospitalised said they were still negatively affected a month after the incident.

Theresia Mambo, a family representative who spoke to The Namibian in February, said they still do not know the root cause of their food poisoning.

She said the families are still afraid to consume food that has not been prepared in their presence, and that sourcing enough food is difficult as the family depends on the pension and social grants of some members, as well as income from farming.

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