Mzimba’s high stunting levels under probe

Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (Luanar) has embarked on a research to establish factors behind higher malnutrition and stunted growth cases in Mzimba District.

Speaking on Saturday during a meeting with Mzimba District Nutrition Coordinating Committee, Luanar Department of Nutrition and Health lecturer Lloyd Chauwa said the district’s malnutrition and stunted growth was at 39 percent against the national prevalence rate of 35 percent.

He said government is implementing nutrition interventions and some of them target to combat chronic malnutrition, but statistics for Mzimba show the cases are not going down.

Chauwa, who is a member of the research team, said there was no known reason behind the rise in cases of stunting in the district.

“That is why we want to embark on the research to establish the factors contributing to high cases of malnutrition and stunted growth in the district,” he said.

Chauwa said there could be gaps in terms of knowledge, attitudes and practices at policy, extension and community levels which are affecting the interventions.

M’Mbelwa District Council nutrition officer Gift Simkonda said the research is welcome as it is critical to reversing the trends of stunted growth.

He said: “The academia is critical to identifying solutions to many problems and the research by Luanar will go a long way in identifying the underlying factors to the problems of malnutrition and stunted growth in Mzimba.

“We hope that the research findings will help us deal with the problem.”

Besides Mzimba, Luanar will also conduct a similar research in Dowa District where malnutrition and stunted growth is at 39 percent.

Meanwhile, different non-governmental organisations are implementing projects to promote nutrition in Mzimba.