AfricaPress-Tanzania: THE Development Partners Group (DPG) has commended the government’s efforts in reducing stunting growth, and called for mass awareness campaign on right nutrition as its cure.
“Recently, we have seen good progress on reducing stunting from 42per cent in 2015 to 32per cent in 2018 among children under-five, this has put Tanzania among few countries with high stunting reduction globally,’’ said DPG Representative, Tumaini Mikindo.
Mr Mikindo who was speaking during the commemoration of Nutrition Day in Tanzania said that the reduction of stunting in the country reflects the commitments by the government to improve nutrition as the country strives to become fully industrialised by 2025.
“It remains important for the country to continue investing in nutrition to address chronic malnutrition which still affects about three million children and to ensure the realised gains are not lost,’’ added Mr Mikindo.
He said Development Partners acknowledge the leadership and oversight provided by the government to ensure that nutrition was a key government priority, adding that in the past five years the community has witnessed nutrition embraced in national policies and plans including the five-year national development agenda.
The DPG representative further said such remarkable and coherent initiatives attract a lot of interest and nutrition support in Tanzania.
Speaking at the occasion, the Minister of Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children, Ummy Mwalimu said that the government had made tremendous strides in improving nutrition.
She said that she was planning to write a letter to the Minister for Education, Science and Technology directing all head teachers and headmasters in both Primary and Secondary Schools countrywide to ensure that they have milk sold in their institutions’ shops.
“Our children should drink enough milk and I am quite sure that majority of pupils are given between 500/- and 1,000/- per day by their parents, therefore instead of spending that money in buying ice-cream, they need to buy milk instead,’’ said the minister.
Commenting, Tanzania Food and Nutrition Centre (TFNC), Executive Director, Dr Germana Leyna said that this year the country started marking the first National Nutrition Day, and would be continued annually thereafter on every August 7th.
“This is an important day to intensify awareness campaigns for nutrition in the country for us to have a healthy nation that can bring development,’’ she noted.
