FEED THE CHILDREN ALLEVIATE MALNUTRITION AMONG CHILDREN

Fortia CBCC in Rumphi

By Frank Kauteka Tembo

Infants death due to malnutrition in the Northern region have been drastically reduced following Tiwalere Orphan and Other Vulnerable Children (OVC) project being implemented by Feed Children International.

The Zone Manager for Feed the Children in the North, Chakufwa Munthali has disclosed this on Tuesday that over ten thousand children who were at risk of malnutrition and other related problems in the region have improved their health status due to fortified porridge and other food staffs being provided by the organization through Community Based Child Care centre’s (CBCCs) in the region. 

“The provision of vitamin flour to these Community Based Child Care centre’s has improved the nutrition status of children in that when we [Feed the Children] partnered with these CBCCs, the weight of most children was not good and after we started providing this vitamin flour to these centre’s the reports from Health Surveillance Assistants in the area we are operating shows that there has been a huge improvement in terms of growth of children,” he said.

Munthali added that the development has also increased the enrolment figures and the attendance rate of children in the CBCCs.

The another intervention the organisation is implementing under Tiwalere OVC project is ‘Thanzi groups’ whereby the community members who are participating in care giving are taught how to prepare nutritious food from their locally available resources in order to reduce the malnutrition levels in the communities.

Chakufwa Munthali-Feed The Children Zone Manager North

According to Munthali the organization also implements activities aiming at improving food security whereby the organisation provide some agricultural inputs such as cassava cuttings, potato vines as well as fruits trees to selected OVC households and CBCCs.

“The idea behind supporting parents and OVC care givers with skills and materials in the communities the organisation is working with is that we [Feed the Children] want them to take a leading role in the implementation of the project so that together we combat malnutrition among children, expectant women, breast feeders just to mention a few.

“In response, CBCCs have come up with communal gardens where they grow various crops and Feed the Children is very sure that when Tiwalere project phases out in 2015 there will be continuity of food availability in the CBCCs the organization is working with,” he said.

The five years Tiwalere project which started in 2010 is currently being implemented in four districts in the North namely Mzimba, Rumphi, Nkhata-Bay and Likoma targeting the Orphans and Vunerable Children under the age of five.