Technology promoting child and maternal nutrition

Lazarus Sauti

Child undernutrition, which often results from poor quality diets in terms of diversity, nutrient content as well as food safety during infancy and childhood, still inflicts the most nutrition-related health lumber in developing countries.

Children who are undernourished, are more vulnerable to communicable diseases and their cognitive growth is compromised, according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), a specialised agency that leads international efforts to defeat hunger.

“For pregnant women,” FAO added, “hunger and malnutrition, especially deficiencies of iron and calcium, contribute significantly to maternal deaths.”

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the lead UN agency for delivering a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and young person’s potential is fulfilled, also says poor maternal and child nutrition is the principal conduit by which poverty is passed on from one generation to another.

This was supported by the author of ‘Climate Change in Zimbabwe: Facts for Planners and Decision Makers’, Anna Brazier, who  added that climate change worsens hardship and poverty among women, children and the disabled, especially those living in rural areas.

The United Nation Children’s Fund (UNICEF), World Health Organisation and World Bank Group – Joint Child Malnutrition 2017 Estimates, note that malnutrition remain alarming in southern Africa.

According to the estimates, 1.8 million children under 5 in the region are suffering from stunting and the prevalence rate is 28.1 percent.

“In Zimbabwe,” according to the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (2014), “11.2 percent of children under 5 years of age were moderately underweight and 2.2 percent were severely underweight while more than a quarter of children (27.6 percent) were moderately stunted or too short their age and 3.3 percent were moderately wasted or too thin for their height.

“Children in Matabeleland South Province were more likely to be underweight (13.9 percent) and wasted (3.9 percent) than children in other provinces.”  

UNFPA, however, believes the eradication of stunting, underweight and wasted cannot be accomplished if issues of population as well as reproductive health are not directly tackled in Zimbabwe and other developing nations.

Accordingly, Practical Action, an international development organisation, is using sustainable technology to challenge poverty and fight stunting and other maternal nutrition-related problems in Matabeleland South Province of Zimbabwe.

The organisation is simply using its developmental projects in marginalised Bulilima, Mangwe, Matobo and Gwanda districts to fight climate change, improve food security and enhance dietary intakes as well as nutritional status of infants and young children.

“Our life-saving project code-named “Community-based seed conservation and management of plant genetic resources”, is fighting climate change, enhancing food security as well as promoting child plus maternal nutrition in marginalised Bulilima, Mangwe and Matobo districts,” said Practical Action Southern Africa’s Project Manager for Sustainable Agriculture and Livelihoods, Melody Makumbe.

“The project,” she added, “not only promote the uptake of indigenous foods, but importantly include a nutrition education component, in which children between the ages of six to 18 months plus their families partake in several nutrition education sessions, which cover food diversity, hygiene, breastfeeding and food for lactating women.”

Makumbe also said her organisation is motivated by the fact that good nutrition allows children to grow, develop, learn, play as well as participate in their communities – core provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) while malnutrition not only robs them of their futures, but leaves young lives hanging in the balance.

Mbuyane farmer, Mathempeli Ncube, applauds the “Community-based seed conservation and management of plant genetic resources” project saying it is integrating nutrition with smallholder family farming and this is highly effective in improving household dietary quality.

In Gwanda, Practical Action, through its “Sustainable Energy for Rural Communities” project, is also using solar technology to light Mashaba Clinic.

Health practitioners from the clinic are now working with local communities in the area not only to improve dietary intake, but to fight maternal deaths, thanks to the project.

“Mashaba Clinic is now a 24-hour healthcare facility, including maternity delivery and emergency services, thanks to our life-saving project,” said Practical Action’s communication manager, Martha Munyoro-Katsi.

“On top of that,” she added, “our projects in Bulilima and Gwanda are helping the nation to fulfil Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 1, which aims to end poverty in all its forms; SDG2, which seeks to end hunger and achieve food security; as well as SDG3, which aspires to ensure health lives and promote well-being for all.”

An official from Mashaba Clinic believes Practical Action is supporting the government’s policy of promoting exclusive breastfeeding for infants during the first six months of life.

“We are working with Practical Action in promoting optimal breastfeeding in the first two years of life, nutritious and safe foods in early childhood, as well as adequate maternal nutrition before and during pregnancy,” the official said.