Murang’a county government has established a multi-sectorial food and nutrition security policy with the aim of tackling bedeviling malnutrition related diseases among the local communities.
The policy that was launched focuses on achieving food security in the county where every resident has access to good quality diversified food.
The multi-sectoral food and nutrition policy formulated by the county administration in partnership with the Nutrition International (NI) organization targets to bring together all nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive sectors to create a coherent approach to achieve food and nutrition security.
The policy process brought all relevant sectors that included health, agriculture, water, irrigation, environment, trade, education, gender, trade and social services.
The County Nutrition Coordinator Ms Nancy Mwangi said Murang’a faces a triple burden of malnutrition including under, over and micro nutrient deficiency.
According to indicators of Kenya Demographic Household Survey of 2022, stunting prevalence among children stands at 10 percent.
Ms Mwangi said under-nutrition among boys aged 15 to 19 years is at 43 percent and for girls in the same age bracket stands at 12 percent
She said the survey also revealed that among the older population, 27 percent of females aged between 20 to 49 years are either obese or overweight with 17 percent of male of the same age category are underweight.
She noted that malnutrition, which largely contributed by poverty and unemployment, is a single largest contributor of maternal and child mortality.
“Inadequate dietary diversity and shortage of food has occasioned emerging non-communicable diseases and cancer,” she said.
“This multi sectorial policy will address all the determinants of malnutrition and support improved nutrition status in the county,” she added.
On her part, the Head of Division, Nutrition and Dietary in the Ministry of Health Ms. Veronica Kirogo said the country uses about Sh374 million annually to treat malnutrition related diseases.
She averred that with proper nutrition and availability of food, the burden of malnutrition would be lessened and the government would divert the resources to cater for other economic developments.
“The government as stated in Vision 2030 targets to eliminate malnutrition especially among children. This policy comes in handy to support strategies and measures outlined to tackle nutrition deficiencies,” she added all involved sectors have to collaborate in implementation of the policy.
“There is a need to embrace a multi-sectoral approach when implementing the county food and nutrition security policy. This will achieve a county with food security and diverse dietary,” noted Ms. Kirogo.
NI Country Director Ms. Martha Nyangaya lauded Murang’a county government for having political commitment in handling matters of nutrition.
She said her organization has been working in Murang’a since 2011 and with the programme implemented, the stunting rate dropped from 19 percent in 2014 to 10 percent in 2022.
“This policy contains high impact initiatives aimed at addressing malnutrition in all its forms and reducing this rate further. The policy will also scale up measures that will help reduce the nutritional deficiencies and ensure a healthy and productive Murang’a population,” remarked Ms. Nyangaya.
She called all sectors mentioned in the policy to commit one percent of their annual budget towards implementation of the policy.
Murang’s deputy governor Stephen Munania observed that more than 5, 000 patients visit local hospitals in the county on a daily basis.
He noted that a large number of the patients seeking health care in the local health facilities suffer from non-communicable diseases which largely are caused by poor diet.
Munania highlighted that malnutrition adversely affects the most vulnerable groups in the communities including pregnant women, lactating mothers, children, adolescents, the elderly and those with chronic diseases.
Underscoring importance of the policy, the Deputy Governor said it’s aimed at increasing efforts to reduce rates of malnutrition and food insecurity in the county.
“We hope that full implementation of this policy will contribute towards attainment of a healthier and well-nourished populace hence supporting socio-economic development in our county,” he stated.
He revealed the county government has supported nutrition in schools through the fortified uji given to all ECDE learners in the county and the food programme which provides a balanced diet for learners in 55 Primary Schools.
“In addition, we have the Inua Mkulima Programme that supports several value chains including milk, sorghum, and maize and mangoes thus boosting food security in the county,” he added.
By Bernard Munyao