Vegetables, milk to stamp out malnutrition in Rwanda

Malnutrition in Rwanda is still a challenge to the development of the country. Adverse effects of micronutrient deficiencies are manifest through birth defects, maternal mortality, mental retardation, lost productivity and diminished capacity to learn leading to limited economic growth, difficulty treating diseases such as HIV and malaria,increased susceptibility to disease, and blindness. The most hit sections of the population are children under the age of five and pregnant mothers. Malnutrition is caused by unequal distribution of nutrients in the body. Recent information from Rwanda's Health Ministry shows that a total of 16,000 families countrywide are undernourished, 250 families in Nyaruguru district alone. However, the government has rolled out an action plan to eliminate malnutrition within the next six months. The activities in the action plan will involve monthly screening and identification of undernourished children under five, pregnant and lactating women, regular procurement of nutrition commodities,promotion of the establishment of vegetable gardens locally called "Akarima k'Igikoni", the director-general in charge of communication at the Rwanda Biomedical Center, Arthur Asiimwe, told Xinhua in an email on Monday. Other activities will include provision of cows to households with severely malnourished children in selected districts with highest prevalence of malnutrition and teaching people poultry farming and how to eat a balanced diet to promote a healthy living. It is understood Rwanda has a lot of food which is not appropriately distributed; people fail to feed well, just because they are not aware of how to eat a balanced diet. To address this, Asiimwe said, cooking demonstration sessions (by trained people) will be organized at village levels to teach the rural women how to cook balanced diet. "Household production and or consumption of micronutrient-rich foods (soya, groundnuts, mushrooms, sweet potato varieties that contain carotene) will also be included." Asked the targeted group of the campaign, Asiimwe said, "Children under five, pregnant and lactating women are the main target," but "malnutrition is a cross cutting disease." In his graphs of patient data by province south, east, north and Kigali, he has columns labelled "severe" and "moderate." Severe cases in total stand at 0.39 while moderate cases stand at 1.72. Rwandan President Paul Kagame at a recent press conference in Kigali said the Rwandese Patriotic Front bush war experience in the fight against malnutrition can offer good lessons. During the 1990-94 war, he explained, they could feed people with nutritional deficiencies on beans and silver fish and within a few days those who ate the stuff were healthy enough to go back to the frontline. He said Rwanda has managed to succeed in implementing many other ambitious programs and eliminating malnutrition would not be an uphill task. A nurse at Polyfame Health Center in Kigali identified only as Clementine said, "The greatest impact of malnutrition can be retarded growth." "But the children can catch up as long as there is food and money." On average, it takes about 28 days before malnourished children regain their health, according to her. Permanent Secretary in Rwanda's Ministry of Health Dr Uzziel Ndagijimana told Rwanda's daily The New Times recently that malnutrition is still a hindrance to the development of the country. "The country is progressing in various domains but malnutrition is still a serious challenge. We are telling people how they can start with what they have to improve their diet," Ndagijimana was quoted as saying. "We are involving everyone from grassroots leaders to health volunteers and other individuals in this campaign. We are hopeful that we will reach our target within the set time." At the launch of the national campaign against malnutrition on Jan. 29, Prime Minister Pierre Damien Habumuremyi distributed milk to children as part of efforts to fight malnutrition. He announced that malnutrition should be no more among the population across the country within the next six months. He also joined residents in the area in preparing vegetable gardens. "Adequate food and nutrition are a universal right and are essential for the physical, mental and emotional development of children as well as the quality of life for adults," Asiimwe said. "Nutrition is also essential for increasing the efficacy of medications, such as antiretroviral drugs, and plays a critical role in the strategies for the prevention, treatment and care of HIV/AIDS." There is ample scientific evidence that shows the impact of under nutrition on infant and child mortality. However, Asiimwe said there were no figures showing death due to malnutrition. UNICEF figures show there are 143 million children under the age of five in developing countries who are underweight for their age due malnutrition and one quarter of this live in Africa. At least 178 million children under five are said to be stunted globally as a result of insufficient nutrients intake.