UNICEF raises red flag over soaring stunting in Rwenzori

___________________

United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), has urged the Rwenzururu Kingdom to move fast and reverse the rising cases of stunting among children. ;

UNICEF says the cases in Rwenzori region in which the kingdom is located are reported to be highest among children aged five and below in the country.

Quoting this year’s findings, UNICEF representative to Uganda Munir Safieldin says stunting in Kasese stands at 40% against the national average of 25%.

Safieldin sounded the warning on November 28, 2023, during a one-day engagement meeting between UNICEF and Obusinga Bwa Rwenzururu (OBR) Privy Council and the cabinet, held at Rwenzori International Hotel in Kasese municipality. The Privy Council is the highest organ in OBR and is chaired by the Rwenzururu king.

Munir wondered why stunting should be so high in the region which is reportedly one of the most fertile and Uganda’s food bucket.

Munir, who had come to meet the rwenzururu leadership, wondered why the rate of stunting should be that high in one of the most fertile and green areas in the country.

“It is very sad that such stunting is happening in a region that feeds many other communities in Uganda,” he said.

He said while flying over Queen Elizabeth National Park, he had seen a lot of elephants grazing in vast areas of green vegetation.

“How can you feed elephants so well and yet fail to feed your children even better?” he asked.

He challenged the Rwenzururu leadership to do everything in their power to reverse the alarming trends.

“After you have left office, you should not be remembered to have left a stunted generation,” he said.

He advised them to mobilise and equip their subjects with appropriate nutrition practices including proper feeding among pregnant and breast-feeding mothers.

“Ensure pregnant mothers eat well during pregnancy and breastfeed their babies exclusively for six months after birth,” he said, explaining breast milk contains all the nutrients that a baby needs.

He also urged the OBR leadership to encourage their mothers to introduce high-value foods such as fruits and vegetables and give each of their infants an egg daily to give them a lifelong foundation.

He compared proper nutrition to a good engine which is critical for the functionality of a motor vehicle or an aircraft.

Early marriages concern

He also decried the high rates of child marriages in the district, warning that it not only damages the physical or emotional life of the child mother but also its baby.

“Make sure your children go to, stay in and complete school,” he said.

According to figures from the gender ministry, Kasese ranks third in child marriages, defilement and teenage pregnancy in the country after Wakiso and Kampala.

Chairing the meeting on behalf of Omusinga (king) Charles Wesley Mumbere Irema-Ngoma, Privy Council member Dr Nathaniel Mumbere Walemba lauded UNICEF for convening the joint meeting.

“We knew we had the problem but the challenge was how to address this monster (stunting),” Walemba said.

Walemba, who is also the vice-chancellor of the recently initiated Kasese-based Rwenzori International University, said that the academic institution will be happy to partner with UNICEF research into the problem of stunting.

“We shall fight it now that we have got the message,” Enoch Jimmy Muhindo, also a member of the Privy Council, said.

Some of the causes of stunting

OBR gender minister Aidaloi Mbabazi Syauswa attributed the problem partly to poor post-harvest handling and massive loss of soil fertility occasioned by landslides, flash floods and droughts.

“Another factor is that our people tend to indiscriminately sell of most of the farm produce leaving hardly any for domestic consumption,” she said.

Acting OBR prime minister Sylvest Masereka read out a statement committing the Cabinet to battle stunting in the institution.

“We do hereby commit to doing whatever is within our power and means to reduce this stunting in line with the constitution of the Republic of Uganda (1995), the Local Governments Act Cap 243, NDP II, the UNAP II, the DDP III, Vision 20140 and the OBR Constitution,” Masereka said in the statement.

He said the undertaking would be tabled to the king doe validation. ;

Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).