Children being served a nutritious meal at Serena Hotel in Kigali recently
Rwanda is set to boost efforts to reduce malnutrition cases in the country once a survey on the real causes is commissioned and comes up with suitable approaches to handle cases of malnutrition in the community.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources and Ministry of Health and stakeholders signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that will see a study, worth about $500,000 budget, conducted.
The study, to be conducted through November this year, will target children under 22 months and women of reproductive age, in the districts of Rubavu, Ngororero, Gakenke, Musanze, Kirehe, Nyagatare, Nyaruguru, Nyamagabe and Gasabo.
The study, set to include assessment of biochemical indicators of nutrition status, will help to understand broadly the issue, identify best approaches in addressing the issue while focusing on home-grown solutions.
Rwanda’s Agriculture Minister, Dr Agnes Kalibata, says that the country has managed to reduce malnutrition cases among children under two-year old to 44% from 74% in a very short time. She however noted that the country, in collaboration with partners, will be able to get a significant impact soon.
Development partners say that though nutrition data indicate that the country is committed to improve nutrition, the rate of malnutrition cases among children is still high; hence new interventions are required.
The survey comes also at a time when country has launched a 1000-day anti malnutrition campaign which kicked off in September last year.
During the Second Global Biofortification Conference, held at Serena Hotel, in Kigali this March 31st, 2014, Rwanda’s Prime Minister Dr. Pierre Damien Habumuremyi said that the challenge Rwanda has is not only about producing more food, but producing nutritious food.
However, Rwanda’s Minister of Health Dr. Agnes Binagwaho argues that the problem of malnutrition is not related to the economy but lack of basic knowledge and good nutritional practices among communities, an aspect that has hampered the health initiatives.
In March 2014, the Government of Rwanda and the European Union signed a financing agreement worth € 30 million (Rwf 28 billion) that will serve to support the country’s goal of eliminating malnutrition.
The rate of stunting in children below the age of years was reduced from 51% in 2005 to 44% in 2010. This according to the new report has cost Rwanda a loss of an estimated Rwf 503.6 billion in 2012 as a result of child under-nutrition, though the demographic health survey shows that the rate of underweight children has reduced from 18% in 2005 to 11% in 2010.
The report states that the largest share of the productivity loss is due to under nutrition and the total loss in productivity for 2012 is estimated at Rwf436.1bn, equivalent to 10 per cent of Rwanda’s GDP.
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