Migori County has received nutritional supplements worth Sh28 million to aid in the malnutrition problem that has affected 8,000 children under the age of five.
Speaking while receiving the donation from Lwala Community Alliance at Migori Referral Hospital, the County Secretary Christopher Rusanna said that malnutrition in the county was significantly high.
He acknowledged that the donation is projected to go for six months where a further donation of a similar amount will be expected within the year.
The official also added that the Alliance had donated Data Capture and Reporting Tools as a stop gap measure towards malnutrition.
He said that the gadgets will be distributed to 79 health facilities across the county to aid in nutrition, community tracking, and accountability.
Rusana noted that the nutritional supplement will be taken to the affected areas of Uriri, Nyatike, Kuria East and Rongo Sub counties where children were more susceptible to malnutrition.
He noted that as a county they have put measures to counter malnutrition that included household nutrition education, formation of mother-to-mother support groups, community food demonstration, and referrals by health community workers to health centre facilities.
The official, however, noted that stigmatisation has slowed down the fight against malnutrition, also saying the county will increase the supply acquisition of nutritional supplements to ensure that the fight against malnutrition is reduced to zero level.
Rusana asked health workers to ensure that the supplements reach the end users so that malnutrition in children, elderly, lactating and expectant mothers are properly addressed.
He thanked the Lwala Community Alliance for coming up every time the county was in dire need of health services further asking them to continue working with the county to ensure that health services are improved.
Ms Doreen Awino, Health Systems Director of Lwala Community Alliance said that the county has worked hard in reducing the infant child and under-five mortality.
She noted that malnutrition is a public health epidemic and the nutritional supplements will help address the problem.
Awino noted that malnutrition has increased the cost of healthcare, diminished productivity and slowed down economic growth across the country.
She pointed out that Migori County is among the top five counties with the highest prevalence of HIV and AIDS and thus increased the need for nutritional supplements to support people living with pandemic.
The director noted that the HIV and AIDS patients were at higher risk of malnutrition but promised that they will also be included in the programme.
Migori County Executive Committee Member for Health Col (Rtd) Joseph Nyamita noted that the community health workers will help to distribute the nutritional supplements to reach the 8,000 malnourished children in the named four sub counties.
The official thanked the Alliance and added that during COVID 19 pandemic, Lwala Community partnered with the county health department and supplied them with the medical equipment that helped in the fight against the pandemic.
“The partnership between the county governments of Migori with the Alliance has yielded many fruits and assisted our people to achieve better and quality health services”, said Nyamita.
In recent years, the Alliance has donated an ambulance, ultrasounds and ventilators to Migori County.
By Geoffrey Makokha
