The County Government of Nakuru is implementing the Sh 2.55 billion County Nutrition Action Plan (CNAP) by reviewing its nutrition programmes and policies to bolster the health and well-being of the population.
County Nutrition Coordinator Wangui Kihara said the County has introduced community-based management, supplementation feeding programmes for pregnant women, and capacity building for healthcare workers to offer nutrition services in all health facilities as a way of addressing undernutrition within the devolved unit.
To assess the outcomes of the programme, the coordinator said the Department of Health, in collaboration with Nutrition International, was conducting an end-line survey to evaluate nutrition practices, knowledge, and capacity within various contexts, with the weeklong survey expected to measure how interventions have influenced nutrition behaviours, practices, and outcomes.
She added that the end-line survey will provide critical insights into the effectiveness of interventions and approaches implemented under the CNAP.
“We’re looking at outcomes in knowledge and how different strategies have shaped nutrition practices within different settings,” Ms. Kihara added.
Kihara explained that the County Nutrition Action Plan (CNAP), developed with the financial and technical support of Nutrition International, county administration, and nutrition stakeholders, was guiding the devolved unit in scaling up the nutrition interventions over the next five years.
According to Kihara, the CNAP programme reflects Governor Susan Kihika’s administration commitment to evidence-based programming to improve the nutritional health of the region’s population and ensure sustainable development in Nakuru going forward.
While acknowledging that malnutrition has both health and economic consequences and undermines basic human rights, Ms. Kihara said the county was targeting to reduce malnutrition in children under five and expectant women by 60 per cent and 58 per cent, respectively, in the next five years as outlined in the county’s 2018-2025 CNAP.
“Other interventions by the county towards addressing malnutrition are the provision of affordable healthcare services and medical and nutrition commodities and supplies to hospitals,’’ added the county official.
She revealed that the county government was also supporting various programmes aimed at ensuring that the target population was nutritionally safe and that there was enough nutrition-rich food, that the nutritional food was affordable and accessible to the low-income consumers, and that there was productivity and respect for biodiversity and ecosystems.
To ensure sustainability in the interventions, Ms. Kihara said plans were underway by Governor Kihika’s administration to strengthen partnerships with Nutrition International beyond the stated financing period.
On good nutrition, the official noted that people had been emphasising more on the need to eat a well-balanced diet, leaving aside important dietary aspects like minerals and trace elements. These she added include traces like zinc, magnesium, calcium, and potassium, among others.
Most people, she added, depend on certain types of food because of culture and availability, while they fail to consider the nutritional value of what they consume.
Consequently, the official urged stakeholders to work with research organisations and academic institutions to address food insecurity and malnutrition. Notably, she added, research has revealed a direct link between nutrient-deprived soils and malnutrition.
According to statistics from the devolved unit’s Department of Health, of the 275,921 children under five living in the county, an estimated 27.9 per cent are stunted, way above the national level of 26 per cent; a further 5 per cent are wasted, while 10.2 per cent are underweight.
According to the Kenya Demographic Health Survey (2014), 75,439 children in Nakuru County were stunted, while malnutrition causes an estimated 17,033 cases of low birth weight and underweight annually within the devolved unit.
Nutrition International supported the development of the CNAP through its Nutrition Technical Assistance Mechanism’s Technical Assistance for Nutrition project, funded with UK aid from the United Kingdom government.
Other partners who offered technical support include the Ministry of Health’s Nutrition and Dietetics Unit, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Afya Uzazi, and Egerton University.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), one out of every three people in the world is malnourished.
WHO, however, indicates that the challenge is solvable if only the health system could create health for its people, adding that adolescent girls and women are the most vulnerable due to biological and sociological aspects.
By Esther Mwangi and Patience Moraa