Alarm over rise in vitamin A, iron deficiencies in children

Six out of 10 children aged between six and 23 months in Kenya lack vitamin A while 22 per cent have iron deficiency, says a new report. The report titled “Identifying and understanding barriers to optimal complementary feeding in Kenya’ revealed that the prevalence of iron and vitamin A deficiencies is unacceptably high among young children —  62 per cent deficient in vitamin A and 22 per cent iron-deficient.

The report also revealed that the percentage of children receiving a minimum acceptable diet in Kenya dropped by seven per cent from 39 per cent in 2014 to 31 per cent in 2022, reversing the progress made in exclusive breastfeeding.

"Throughout the study period, Kenya scored in exclusive breastfeeding, increasing from 32 per cent to 60 per cent, but lost in complementary feeding," says the report The report by the Health Ministry, Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (Gain) and the United Nations Children Fund (Unicef) shows that Kenya missed her target through the National Nutrition Action Plan developed by the ministry, aiming to improve the proportion of children aged between six to 23 months consuming a diverse diet.

The diet specified in the target includes a minimum of four food groups in a day.

The findings are supported by separate research by the Kenya Medical Research Institute (Kemri), the ministry, and Kenya National Bureau of Statistics indicating that anaemia prevalence among children under the age bracket is estimated at 42 per cent, with about half of them suffering from iron deficiency anaemia.

Nutritionist Paul Migwi says complementary feeding, introduced after six months of exclusive breastfeeding, is important as it provides essential nutrients to aid a child’s full potential in cognitive and physical development. Mr Migwi says undernutrition at this age bracket has irreversible negative effects on brain and neurocognitive development, and he attributes it to stunted growth and wasting.

Climate change, accessibility and affordability of nutritional-rich foods are partly blamed for the situation, with the report saying that vulnerability to food insecurity is high among pastoralists and small-scale farmers in arid and semi-arid areas.

“Climate change in Kenya has led to more frequent extreme weather events like droughts, irregular and unpredictable rainfall, flooding and increasing temperatures, which have worsened the pre-existing water and food security challenges. Households' livelihoods are also a factor contributing to nutritional access and adequate complementary feeding,” says Ms Ruth Okowa, GAIN country director.

She also blames urbanisation, where agricultural land is taken by the housing industry, as a contributing factor to children's complementary feeding challenges.

“The economic value of small-scale agricultural activities has significantly decreased due to rapid urbanisation and the housing industry; increasingly exploiting peri-urban areas that would otherwise have high agricultural potential.

"This is a threat and a barrier to small-scale agricultural production, further narrowing the opportunity for ‘non-purchasing’ access to food. As a result, low-income households have little access to a variety of nutrient-dense foods that tend to be more expensive per caloric intake value.

Their choice of accessible food is often limited to relatively nutrient-poor cereals and other starchy staples,” says the GAIN director. Dr Ty Beal, a researcher with GAIN, says complementary feeding diets in Kenya are often inadequate in iron, zinc, calcium, and animal-source protein, which leads to poor growth and development.

“There exist local, nutritious foods that are relatively affordable and can help fill the nutrient gaps such as small, dried fish, dark green leafy vegetables, liver, milk and eggs. But strategies may help improve the affordability of highly nutrient-dense animal-source foods,such as increasing livestock production efficiency and improving trade and transportation infrastructure,” says Dr Beal.

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