24.1 C
Lilongwe
Friday, May 30, 2025
More
    HomeNationalGovernment urges CSOs to spearhead alleviation of malnutrition

    Government urges CSOs to spearhead alleviation of malnutrition

    Published on:

    Government has urged Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in Balaka to work collectively in spearheading the alleviation of malnutrition among pregnant women, lactating mothers, children under five children and adolescent girls.

    Principal Nutrition HIV/AIDS Officer (PNHAO) from the Department of Nutrition in the Ministry of Health, Clara Mvula, made the call Tuesday in Balaka when ‘We Effect’ in partnership with Self Help Africa (SHA) presented the Nourishing Futures: Empowering Malawi’s CSOs for Sustainable Nutrition project to the District Executive Committee (DEC)

    According to Mvula, women and children under five from rural communities are more vulnerable to issues of malnutrition because they have limited access to fortified nutritious food, which contains iodine, zinc and vitamin A, among others.

    “Malawi is still among the developing countries in Africa whose households are grappling with issues of access to a balanced diet, particularly for pregnant and lactating women and underage children.

    “Recent studies have shown that out of general population in Malawi, 36 percent of under five children are retarded, 12.5 are under weight and 15.6 percent of adolescent girls are malnourished,” she said.

    Mvula: CSO must help in streading the messages of eating bio fortified food.Pic by Mary Makhiringa (MANA)

    “Hence, we are calling for CSOs in Balaka to jointly complement the government’s effort by partnering with sectors like Health, Agriculture, Education and Trade to build strong awareness and capacity among the community members on issues of nutrition,” added Mvula.

    Balaka District CSOs Chairperson, Helix Chimutu hailed the project saying it will act as a game changer for other nutrition-related interventions such as school feeding programmes which are already on the ground.

    He assured the communities that CSO network will work collectively with all relevant authorities, including the media, to successfully disseminate the messages that highlight benefits of consuming a balanced diet and how households would access it using local resources.

    The project will be implemented through joint effort from ‘We Effect’, Farmers Union of Malawi (FUM), Catholic Development Commission of Malawi (CADECOM) among others with funding from European Union (EU) and it will targets over 9,000 beneficiaries from Traditional Authority Amidu and Sub TA Matola starting from March 2025 to August 2029.

    Subscribe

    - Never miss a story with notifications

    - Gain full access to our premium content

    - Browse free from up to 5 devices at once

    Latest stories

    Related stories

    MACRA launches construction of 75 ICT laboratory centres

    Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA) through Connect a School Project launched construction of 75 Information Communication Technologies (ICT) laboratory centres in Community Day Secondary Schools (CDSS) across the country.

    Youths called to take charge of environment

    Civil Society Network on Climate Change (CISONECC) has called upon youths to be on the forefront in taking care of the environment as one way of showing responsibility and giving back to their communities.

    Journalists urged to triple coverage on cholera pandemic in Malawi

    Co-chairperson of the President Taskforce on Covid-19 and Cholera, Dr. Wilfred Chalamira Nkhoma, has appealed to journalists to triple their efforts in disseminating information on the two pandemics.

    Undule against July 10 demos, calls for contact & dialogue

    Governance and Human Rights Advocate Undule Mwakasungula has disapproved plans by the Concerned Citizens of Malawi to hold nationwide demonstrations on July 10, 2024, arguing the call for a protest is misplaced and not in national interests.