WFP moves to reverse worrying trend

WESTERN UGANDA:

The World Food Programme together with Uganda’s ministry of Health have today February 26, 2010, launched a massive sensitisation exercise in the western Uganda district of Bundibugyo to try to reverse a worrying trend of child stunting because of poor diets.

Because of poor diets, up to forty-five percent of children aged under five in the district have been left stunted a situation that is sure to compromise their overall growth development. According to the United Nations World Food Programme, an estimated 38 percent of Ugandan children under five years have been left stunted because of poor diets and chronic hunger.

Chronic hunger among children is a condition where children lack the required nutrients – especially protein – over a sustained period in their early lives. It can lead to stunted growth and can compromise mental development.

“Just over 38 percent of all children in Uganda, aged five and under, are stunted,” WFP Uganda Country Director, Stanlake Samkange said in a press statement sent to The Sunrise. “This a major challenge as the condition can lead to life-long damage to the minds and futures of children.”

At a ceremony at Boma Grounds in Bundibugyo town in western Uganda, WFP, the Ministry and district leaders launched a three-year programme to sensitise people to the importance of giving the right foods to children under five. Through local media and community groups, people will learn of the dangers of chronic hunger and be encouraged to feed children and pregnant women appropriately.

“Chronic hunger is a problem throughout south-western Uganda,” Samkange said. “Despite the large amounts and varieties of food that the people grow, research shows that they generally lack adequate knowledge on appropriate nutrition for pregnant women and young children.”

“Today, let us resolve to revise the feeding of our children and pregnant women so that we can give our young ones a great start in life,” the Bundibugyo District Chairman, Jackson Bambalira said. “To appreciate the impact of hunger, you need to look at the long term. What happens at one stage of life affects later stages. The development of our district depends on the next generation growing to their full physical and mental potential.”

One cause of chronic child hunger in Bundibugyo is introducing young children to complementary foods too early, and the poor nutritional quality of these foods, the UN agency noted.

The Ministry of Health policy on Infant and Young Child feeding recommends that all infants must be exclusively breastfeed for the first 6 months. Appropriate complementary foods are then introduced after 6 months while the mother continues to breastfeed up to 2 years and beyond.

However, a study conducted in the district in January found that most of the children aged six months to two years, and even some younger than six months, were fed on cassava and mashed plantain. These types of food do not have sufficient energy or protein to help a child properly grow.

The effects of stunting can go on to adulthood. Life expectancy of the people affected is shorter and there are high chances that their babies will be underweight

“Uganda’s overall stunting rate for children is unacceptable,” the Commissioner for Community Health, Anthony Mbonye said. “If the Bundibugyo sensitization campaign , improves the nutrition status of our children, proves sustainable and leaves a lasting impression in this community, the Government will work with WFP and other partners l to roll it out to other districts affected by chronic hunger, like Kasese, Kisoro, Kanungu and Bushenyi, plus the Karamoja region.”

The sensitization campaign is in line with WFP’s new strategic direction of not just providing food aid, but also trying to help people gain some measure of food and nutrition security for the future. It builds on the work that the United Nations Children's Fund, the World Health Organisation and others have been doing and is part of the overall United Nations Development Assistance Framework for Uganda.

Programmes such as cash, vouchers and campaigns that sensitize people on the importance of good nutrition are all ways in which WFP is supporting Uganda's effort to promote sustainable development and achieve the Millennium Development Goals.
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