Malawi Launches
Strategic Nutrition Plan
Malawi
has become the first country in the world to launch a National
Nutrition Policy and Strategic Plan.
The Secretary for Nutrition, HIV and AIDS, Mary Shawa said in an
interview that the national nutrition policy and strategic plan
is Malawian President Bingu Mutharika's brain child and was
developed in Year 2004 to serve as guide in the implementation
of nutrition programmes, interventions and activities.
’’We are very proud as a nation to be the first to implement
a special policy on nutrition, other countries have tackled
nutrition as a challenge under other major challenges but we've
been the first to establish a special department for nutrition,
with the head of state at the top, and a special budget for the
same," said Shawa.
Objectives and
implementation
The policy is also aimed at promoting the consumption of
nutritive and balanced diet which the Malawi government divided
into six groups namely, staples, food from animals, vegetables,
fruits, legumes and fats.
According to Malawi’s Vice President, Joyce Banda, who chaired
the official launch on Friday, notable achievements have already
been made since the policy's development in 2004.
’’Since the policy's development in 2004, the rate of Vitamin
A supplementation to under-five children has shot from 64 per
cent to 95 per cent.’’
’’Cure rate among malnourished children is 84 per cent while
death rate has dropped from 20 per cent to two per cent,’’
She said that 2,500,000 vulnerable individuals including
people living with HIV have received nutrition support.
Banda further revealed that 3.2 million pupils in Malawi
have received micronutrients supplementation and that 1.1
million pupils in 1,172 public schools are being fed
through a school feeding programme, where fortified porridge or
rice is given to pupils in schools.
UNICEF Resident Representative, Carrie Auer described the
development and implementation of the nutrition policy as timely
considering the rate of malnutrition in Malawi.
NAN/Yinka
