Wellness & Fitness

An alarming 29pc of children in Kenya are wasted

child

The proportion of wasting (low weight-for-height) in children below the age of five years is at 29 per cent in Kenya. FILE PHOTO | NMG

The proportion of wasting (low weight-for-height) in children below the age of five years is at 29 per cent in Kenya owing to improper breastfeeding, early supplementary feeding and weaning practices, according to a survey by Kenya National Bureaus of Statistics (KNBS).

The KNBS Basic report states that children residing in the rural area are the most affected with a wasting prevalence of 32 per cent compared to 25 per cent in urban areas.

Wasting was found to be more prevalent in children aged one to four years. Children in Mandera (47 per cent), Narok (40 per cent) and Trans Nzoia (37 per cent) were the most affected.

Garissa, Murang’a and Nairobi counties had the lowest wasting prevalence of 8.3 per cent, 20 per cent and 21 per cent respectively.

“Early introduction of food (supplementation), especially in unhygienic conditions, can result in infections, while delayed or poor supplementation on the other hand inhibits normal growth,” KNBS said.

Lack of proper nutrition leads to wasting (low weight-for-height), stunting (low height for age) and being generally underweight, which puts especially children at risk of diseases like kwashiorkor, rickets and sometimes eventual death.

The KNBS survey found national stunting prevalence to be at 13 per cent. The Kenya Data Health Survey (KDHS) defines stunting as the result of failure to receive adequate nutrition over an extended period and may also be affected by recurrent or chronic illness.

Health ministry’s National Nutrition Action Plan (NNAP) targets to tackle stunting by among other things encouraging women to exclusively breastfeed their children during their first six months, timely introduction of foods and micronutrients supplementation and food fortification.

Continued uptake of community nutrition and growth monitoring programmes, where 31 per cent of children had participated nationally during the survey, was said to be a new platform where mothers are increasing learning about nutrition. The growth monitoring programmes, the survey said, is the catalyst required to bring down the cases of wasting and stunting, further down.

“Community-based nutrition programmes provide a crucial contact between the population and trained health workers. The programmes are expected to create awareness increase on good nutrition practises in the community and to minimise incidences of child malnutrition,” the report said.