Stunting still a challenge in Karonga

Karonga District Hospital has reiterated the need for different stakeholders to collaborate in the fight against stunting and malnutrition-related cases that are still high in the district.

Karonga district nutritionist Hamilton Gondwe made the call at the weekend at the end of a four day training of members of District Nutrition Coordinating Committee (DNCC) on issues of nutrition organised by World Relief.

Gondwe said stunting rate among under-five children in the district is still high at 28 percent which is above World Health Organisation (WHO) recommended rate of 20 percent.

“We still have malnutrition problem here. If we talk of wasting {a disease that causes someone to become so thin and weak} the district is at 2 percent while the problem of underweight is at 9 percent,” he said

He said when children are malnourished, it affects their growth and thinking capacity which may also affect their participation in the development of their community and the country at large.

In his remarks, Karonga district commissioner Richard Hara observed that there is need for members of the DNCC and other stakeholders to intensify teaching rural communities how they can make nutritious food.

According to UNICEF, in Malawi, 4 percent of children, especially those below five years suffer from acute malnutrition.

The report further says more than half of Malawian children suffer from chronic malnutrition, resulting in stunting (being too short for one’s age).

These figures therefore imply that Malawi is one of the countries with high malnutrition incidents in Eastern and Southern Africa.