{"id":16552,"date":"2022-05-03T15:11:15","date_gmt":"2022-05-03T15:11:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/huye-home-based-ecd-at-the-centre-of-malnutrition-fight"},"modified":"2022-05-03T15:27:52","modified_gmt":"2022-05-03T15:27:52","slug":"huye-home-based-ecd-at-the-centre-of-malnutrition-fight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/photo\/huye-home-based-ecd-at-the-centre-of-malnutrition-fight","title":{"rendered":"Huye home-based ECD at the centre of malnutrition fight"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Rwanda. <\/strong><\/span>Emilienne Mushimiyimana, a community health worker in Huye sector of Huye district recalls some children suffering from malnutrition before joining the home-based Early Childhood Development (ECD) centre.<\/p>\n

However, currently, all children that have joined the home-based ECD in Mbuba village, Nyakagezi cell are no longer malnourished thanks to the project dubbed \u201cStunting Prevention and Reduction Project (SPRP)\u201d.<\/p>\n

The project is being implemented by Rwanda Biomedical Centre (RBC) in collaboration with National Child Development Agency and local leaders.<\/p>\n

The home-based ECD works from Monday to Saturday, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have 20 children in the home-based ECD with seven care givers. Before joining the ECD, the children\u2019s nutrition status was not good. Some were suffering from Kwashiorkor. Now we receive flour to prepare nutritious porridge for them and parents meet once a month to gain knowledge on fighting malnutrition and stunting.\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

She said that they also screen the children to detect malnutrition issues and monitor if their health is improving.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe parents have understood how to prepare a balanced diet. The nutrition security for children has improved,\u201d testified Mushimiyimana.<\/p>\n

She said that the home-based ECD has also improved children\u2019s learning ability.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen parents go to work, they leave children in ECD centres. This benefits both children and their families in various ways,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She said that the hygiene has improved for the children thanks to the supported ECD.<\/p>\n

Setting up a saving scheme to support ECD<\/b><\/p>\n

Mushimiyimana told The New Times, during the visit, that the children\u2019s parents have established a savings group that is helping to afford different children\u2019s needs in the home-based ECD.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe 20 members of the saving group meet every week. Whenever we need money to help children in the ECD, we use savings from the group. One share is Rwf200 and each member is allowed to contribute up to four shares,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Jean Jacque Murego, the ECD focal point in Huye district.<\/b><\/p>\n

She said that while getting the dividends, each group member contributes half of the savings to support children in the home-based ECD.<\/p>\n

With savings in the established group, the parents are also planning to buy uniform clothes for the children.<\/p>\n

Regine Nibagwire, a parent who has a child in Nyakagezi home-based ECD testified that it has improved nutrition and hygiene status as well as cognitive skills for her child.<\/p>\n

\u201cI commend those who come up with the project that is supporting our children. Our lives and the health status of children have drastically improved.<\/p>\n

We would not be able to do our daily activities such as farming and rearing livestock because I would have to spend a lot of time looking after the child. Now the time for income-generating activity has increased as my child is catered for in the ECD. They get nutritious food. Hygiene and learning ability have also improved,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Nibagwire said that the monthly meeting helps to gain knowledge on fighting malnutrition and stunting among children.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost of us had no knowledge about a balanced diet. The gained knowledge will ensure no cases of malnutrition in our village,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Over 1,000 ECDs supported<\/b><\/p>\n

Jean Jacque Murego, the ECD focal point in Huye district told The New Times that children between three and six years old are being provided with nutritious food in 1,119 home-based ECDs with over 24,000 children benefiting from SPRP.<\/p>\n

\u201cStunting Prevention and Reduction Project (SPRP) has helped the district to buy nutritious porridge for the children in our ECDs. A kitchen garden for the village has also been established where children\u2019s parents meet to learn about fighting malnutrition and stunting,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He said that within four years, the project has prevented and reduced malnutrition and stunting.<\/p>\n

\u201cStunting was at 42 per cent in 2015. The latest survey shows that stunting has decreased to 29.2 per cent,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Countrywide, the rate of stunting has decreased by 11 per cent in the last 10 years but more effort is needed to reach a targeted 19 per cent by 2024 or a 14 per cent decrease, a fact that requires behaviour change education.<\/p>\n\r\n