News / Regional
Mat North children suffer stunted growth
20 Mar 2014 at 07:35hrs | Views
THE MAJORITY of children in Nkayi and Lupane in Matabeleland North province live on a poor diet due to poverty and as a result suffer from stunted growth, a UN Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) official has revealed.
In a report at the FAO livestock production support launch for Matabeleland Northin Bulawayo on Tuesday, the UN agency's nutrition and food safety officer Delilah Takawira said the stunted growth caused by malnutrition posed a danger to the development status of Zimbabwe.
Takawira described a stunted child as too short for their age caused by poor nutrition.
Stunting can start when a child is still in the mother's womb due to poor nutrition during pregnancy.
Takawira told Southern Eye on the sidelines of the FAO livestock production support launch that statistics showed only 4,5% children in Lupane and 6,3% in Nkayi were receiving a minimum acceptable diet.
She indicated that child stunting levels in Nkayi were at around 36% and 29,2% in Lupane.
The stunting rates were measured among children aged between six months and 59 months in a National Nutrition Survey of 2010.
This is the only survey with data disaggregated to district level.
"The Zimbabwe Human Demographic Health Survey 2010-2011 reported a national stunting rate of 32%, just slightly lower than the 33,8% national rate reported in the National Nutrition 2010 survey.
"So essentially if there are any changes since 2010, they are not very different from these," Takawira said.
"A stunted child is not only short in stature, but more prone to infection and poor health; more likely to develop chronic conditions later in life; more likely to perform poorly in school and less productive as an adult.
"This has a huge impact on the development status of a nation. Stunting can only be corrected before the child turns two years old and this period is called the window of opportunity.
"After two years, impacts of stunting cannot be corrected."
The FAO livestock support to smallholder farmers in Matabeleland North is envisaged to reverse the trend of a poor diet in the province.
"This project is aimed at maximising the impact of nutrition outcomes on target populations, while minimising the unintended negative nutritional consequences of agricultural interventions and policies on the poor and vulnerable, especially women and young children," Takamira added.
In a report at the FAO livestock production support launch for Matabeleland Northin Bulawayo on Tuesday, the UN agency's nutrition and food safety officer Delilah Takawira said the stunted growth caused by malnutrition posed a danger to the development status of Zimbabwe.
Takawira described a stunted child as too short for their age caused by poor nutrition.
Stunting can start when a child is still in the mother's womb due to poor nutrition during pregnancy.
Takawira told Southern Eye on the sidelines of the FAO livestock production support launch that statistics showed only 4,5% children in Lupane and 6,3% in Nkayi were receiving a minimum acceptable diet.
She indicated that child stunting levels in Nkayi were at around 36% and 29,2% in Lupane.
The stunting rates were measured among children aged between six months and 59 months in a National Nutrition Survey of 2010.
This is the only survey with data disaggregated to district level.
"The Zimbabwe Human Demographic Health Survey 2010-2011 reported a national stunting rate of 32%, just slightly lower than the 33,8% national rate reported in the National Nutrition 2010 survey.
"So essentially if there are any changes since 2010, they are not very different from these," Takawira said.
"A stunted child is not only short in stature, but more prone to infection and poor health; more likely to develop chronic conditions later in life; more likely to perform poorly in school and less productive as an adult.
"This has a huge impact on the development status of a nation. Stunting can only be corrected before the child turns two years old and this period is called the window of opportunity.
"After two years, impacts of stunting cannot be corrected."
The FAO livestock support to smallholder farmers in Matabeleland North is envisaged to reverse the trend of a poor diet in the province.
"This project is aimed at maximising the impact of nutrition outcomes on target populations, while minimising the unintended negative nutritional consequences of agricultural interventions and policies on the poor and vulnerable, especially women and young children," Takamira added.
Source - Southern Eye
