Why Kenya’s stunting trends continue to alarm
A doctor attends to a sick child. Studies show that stunted children end up underperforming in school which affects their earning levels in future. PHOTO | FOTOSEARCH
What you need to know:
- According to the 2022 Kenya Demographic Health Survey, at least 33 per cent of children between the age of six months and 59 months suffer from nutrition deficiency-related conditions.
- Out of this, 18 per cent suffer stunted growth, five per cent are wasted, 10 per cent are underweight and three per cent are overweight, a situation way above the World Health Assembly targets. The global reduction target by the assembly for stunted growth is 3.9 per cent.
Weak policies and lack of discussions about nutrition matters at county and national levels have been blamed for the worrying trend of children with stunted growth.
Stunting is described as low height for age.
According to the 2022 Kenya Demographic Health Survey, at least 33 per cent of children between the age of six months and 59 months suffer from nutrition deficiency-related conditions. Out of this, 18 per cent suffer stunted growth, five per cent are wasted, 10 per cent are underweight and three per cent are overweight, a situation way above the World Health Assembly targets. The global reduction target by the assembly for stunted growth is 3.9 per cent.
Experts say the worst fact about child-stunted growth is that it is not clinically detected, has no early warning signs, and might be detected too late when it has caused irreversible damage — at two years of age.
“Stunted growth has no early signs like other severe malnutrition conditions such as kwashiorkor. It is mostly a deficiency of basic micronutrients necessary for the holistic growth of the child. It is something that needs to be addressed from conception. It cannot be diagnosed clinically through normal medical tests like other diseases.
“ It is determined by taking the child’s height to compare with age, and in this case, the child’s height will be lower than the average comparative age,” said Paul Migwi, a nutritionist from Nyandarua County.
Among the irreparable damages caused by stunting is the brain due to the lack of important micronutrients required for brain development.
“Stunted growth has both short and long-term implications including death. It also increases the chances of opportunistic diseases and infections. It affects the child’s education and career progress. it is important to have a nutritious diet from conception,” said Mr Migwi.
Ruth Okowa, the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition’s (GAIN) country director, said Kenya is experiencing the triple burden of malnutrition characterised by stunting, wasting and underweight.
GAIN and Care International are implementing a holistic nutrition and diet programme in Nyandarua, Nairobi and Nakuru counties.
Ms Okowa noted that Kenya is among the countries affected by poor nutrition and has been placed under the Cascade Programme, which seeks to improve food security and contribute to the reduction of malnutrition of at least 5 million women of reproductive age and children.
The project is also being implemented in Benin, Nigeria, Uganda, Ethiopia and Mozambique.
The Kenya National Micronutrient Survey of 2011 shows that Kenya suffers from high micronutrient deficiencies; with the most prevalent being Zinc, Vitamin A, Iron, and Iodine. Children account for 70 per cent of Zinc deficient cases.
The Cascade programme is working with 900 community groups in the three counties to address nutrition problems and stunted growth.
Nyandarua Governor Kiarie Badilisha said stunting is a worrying trend, especially considering that some of the most affected counties are listed among Kenya’s food baskets.
“In Nyandarua 19 per cent of children are stunted, not because we don’t have food, but because we have commercialised farming at the expense of our health and the health of our children. We are the second-best milk producing county after Kiambu, yet we have cases of stunted growth despite the common knowledge that milk is highly nutritious with almost all nutrient contents needed by the body, yet we sell everything. Walk to any homestead by 11am and you won’t get a cup of tea because all the milk will have been sold. We want to reverse the situation in five years and that is why we have invited the Cascade programme to partner with and support us,” said the governor.
He added that another factor affecting nutrition in Nyandarua is the vagaries of weather and climate change, where farmers harvest nothing or too little.
“Apart from the Climate Change interventions we have undertaken, each county department will have a role to play in food security, a percentage of their budget must go towards agricultural production and supporting farmers,” said the governor.
Ms Leah Kagwara, the country CARE International Director says Kenya, like many African countries, is faced with multiple burdens of nutrition, especially under nutrition leading to stunted growth, wasting, and underweight.
“In Cascade Programme, we shall support the farmers to produce the right nutrition foods, growing and commercialization of Biofortified nutrient-dense food crops such as beans already been implemented in parts of Ukambani region and enhancement of marketplace for nutritious foods working with SMEs, we are talking about production and access to nutritious foods, and training mothers on how to feed the families with a healthy diet,” said Ms Kagwara.
