Health Ministry, partners renew commitment to reduce stunted growth in children
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- 17 Feb 2023
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According to Samalie Namukose the Assistant Commissioner of Health Services/Nutrition Division at the Ministry of Health, stunting among other forms of malnutrition remains a burden to the country’s health sector and needs urgent solutions.
The Ministry of Health has renewed its commitment to seeing a reduction in stunted children under the age of five by the end of 2025. Statistics from the Ministry reveal stunting in children under five years stands at 25 percent with the prevalence being more pronounced in the rural areas of Central and Northern Uganda.
According to Samalie Namukose the Assistant Commissioner of Health Services/Nutrition Division at the Ministry of Health, stunting among other forms of malnutrition remains a burden to the country’s health sector and needs urgent solutions.
She says a recent survey conducted by Makerere University Public Health Institute also indicates a great percentage of children under five years are underweight, anemic, and severely wasted as a result of poor feeding.
Namukose adds that the survey indicates that three percent of children are wasted, nine percent are underweight and 44 percent are anemic.
She was on Wednesday speaking at a Nutrition symposium. The symposium held under the theme “strengthening System for Improved Nutrition in Uganda” was organized by the Health Ministry in partnership with UNICEF, World Food Programme, Action Against Hunger, and USAID, among other partners.
According to Namukose, the trend of stunting among children under five years is still persisting despite several past interventions, the government has set up new ideas targeting a 19 percent reduction of stunting in children by 2025. Read More…
