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Malnutrition kills 67 children in Zambezi region

OUNONA TAVA MONO OIXUNA …. Omwaalu aushe kumwe, ounona ve li 545 okwa li va monika nokupangwa oudu womanyutu okudja momudo 2021 fiyo onena.

About 67 children under the age of five have died of malnutrition in the Zambezi region in the past four years.

Malnutrition refers to a lack of proper nutrition caused by not having food enough to eat, not eating enough of the right foods or being unable to benefit from the food one does eat.

In total, 545 children were diagnosed and treated for malnutrition from 2021 to date.

Statistics also show that 137 children have been admitted for the same cause in different hospitals in the region, while17 have died as a result of malnutrition since the beginning of this year alone.

Regional health officials provided these statistics to members of the parliamentary standing committee on gender equality, social development and social affairs on Monday.

The committee is conducting a one-day assessment of the malnutrition situation in the region.

Katima Mulilo District Hospital medical officer Juliana Sanandwa says they admit malnourished children almost on a daily basis at the hospital, with the numbers increasing during droughts.

She says the reluctance of young mothers to breastfeed their babies is one of the major contributing factors to malnutrition in children, adding that breastfeeding is crucial in the first six months of the baby’s life.

“Most of these children are left in the care of their grandparents, who have no means to care for them and end up feeding them with whatever they can get that is not nutritional enough. The absence of the fathers’ support also leads mothers into depression, whereby they end up neglecting their children,” she says.

Acting regional health director Richard Likokoto says that because of a lack of milk, they cannot always give mothers milk for the babies when they are discharged.

He says the government should look into providing fortified foods, such as maize, as an additional supplement for children under the age of five.

“The malnutrition situation in the region needs a multi-sectoral approach whereby responsible ministries need to provide training on how to prepare nutritious food using available local foods. Communities would need to be assisted in coming up with backyard gardens because, clearly, they cannot afford to do it themselves. Young mothers should also be encouraged to keep breastfeeding their babies,” he says.

A representative from the regional education directorate, Elvis Liwakala, says during the last financial year, about 28 000 primary school pupils benefited from the school feeding programme in the region.

He adds that during the current financial year, they are planning to feed about 30 000 pupils through this programme.

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