Nutritionist, Ann Njeri, checks weight of a child during a free medical camp held at Kambirwa health centre in Murang’a county/KNA
Poor feeding has been termed as one of major factors causing stunting and underweight among children below five years in the country.
Dr. Kairo Kimende of Equihealth Global highlighted that 26 percent of children in Kenya experience stunted growth and malnutrition due to poor feeding.
Speaking during a free medical camp that targeted children at Kambirwa health centre in Murang’a county, Dr. Kimende said stunting and malnutrition stands at 10 percent in the area.
He said poor attendance of mothers to postnatal clinics makes them miss nutrition information, which is key to growth of their children.
The medic observed that some mothers usually feed their young ones with the available food without considering the crucial nutrients needed for the growth of children.
He stated feeding children with a lot of starch ignoring other types of diet like proteins and vitamins causes stunting and malnutrition among them, especially those under five years.
“When mothers regularly attend clinics, they are trained on proper ways of feeding their children. But it's unfortunate that some mothers fail to attend postnatal clinics, hence they don’t get information and knowledge on how to feed their young ones, leading to malnutrition,” he said.
However, the medic noted that for Murang’a being and agricultural county, there was availability of food, hence the rate of stunting should be less than 1 percent.
“Here one can access vegetables, animal, and plant protein, but usually you find a mother feeding her children a lot of starch, which can cause malnutrition,” he added.
Kimende said his organisation together with other partners, have come in to address gaps in the provision of services so as to ensure a healthy community.
During the medical camp, the medic pointed out that they took the weight of the children, height, mid-upper arm circumference to identify interventions that can be made to ensure the community is able to curb the levels of malnutrition.
On her part, Ann Njeri, a nutritionist, observed that from what they witnessed during the camp, most parents are not enlightened on matters to do with a balanced diet.
“For instance, arising from the exercise, most mothers appeared to have been feeding their children with starch, ignoring both animal and plant proteins which are crucial for the growth of children,” added Njeri.
She also added that it is important for parents to check on the quality of food they feed the young ones other than the quantity.
During the free medical camp, Moses Kiarie, a clinician, enlightened the community on drug resistance, where if one fails to complete drug dosage as prescribed by doctors and the same drugs are prescribed again, then they fail to work.
“The rate of drug resistance among people has gone up. This is due to failure to finishing dosages as prescribed by the medical personnel. I appeal to residents to take medicine as directed by doctors so as to avoid drug resistance,” he remarked.
Marewa Sublocation Assistant Chief Erick Mwangi applauded the move by Equihealth Global of bringing health services closer to the people while complimenting the government's efforts.
He called for more well-wishers to conduct similar activities with a view to assisting the less fortunate members of society.
