Mchinji District Council has commended Nutrition International for improving access to vitamin A among children in the district.
In an interview on Tuesday, Mchinji district nutritionist Cassius Mkandawire said the district transitioned from child health days campaigns to routine vitamin A supplementation (VAS) in 2018.
“VAS is now fully integrated in routine extended programme for immunisation (EPI) and early childhood development (ECD) services. Nutrition International has supported 438 health frontline workers who were trained in child health and nutrition services,” he said.
meeting. I Vincent Khonje
Mkandawire also said the organisation provided K28 million as part of a grant agreement.
Yesterday, a team from Nutrition International’s Canada and Africa regional office visited Mchinji to appreciate some of the interventions being undertaken by the Ministry of Health and the district.
The organisation’s chief operations officer Steve Gilbert said he was impressed with the tremendous efforts to try to reduce child malnutrition and improve the conditions of children.
“I think it is an excellent effort, but I did also hear what they said about challenges with child stunting and other health burdens. So we are here to try to help,” he said.
Kochilira Health Centre senior disease control and surveillance assistant Lameck Kansale said VAS for September for 7 288 children in the catchment area has improved to 93 percent.
Vitamin A is important for children’s health as it supports normal vision, especially in low light and boosts the immune system to fight infections such as measles and diarrhoea, reducing the risk of severe illness and death
