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Number of Kenyan children facing malnutrition could double with drought

 Nakuru county chief executive officer in charge of health Dr Mungai Kabii hands over a new weight management kit to community health workers during a ceremony in Naivasha. The kit that has been developed in Japan will help persons suffering from obesity or overweight monitor and control their weight. PHOTO: ANTONY GITONGA/STANDARD

The number of malnourished children in the country could double in the coming days due to the ongoing drought.

According to the Ministry of Health, five per cent of children in the country are already faced with wasting because of living under hard circumstances like drought.

And as the prolonged harsh weather continues to wreak havoc, the ministry has called for urgent measures to address malnutrition.

According to the ministry's head of Nutrition and Dietetics, Gladys Mugambi, the drought has eroded gains made in the health sector.

She noted that according to the Kenya Demographic Survey, only five per cent of minors in the country were suffering from wasting; another 11 per cent were underweight.

"In some counties such as Kitui and West Pokot, cases of underweight children stand at 40 per cent and with the ongoing drought, things could get worse," she said.

Ms Mugambi was speaking to the media in Naivasha after launching a mobile phone application from the Japanese government that helps manage and control weight.

She described the application as "very crucial", noting that currently, close to 50 per cent of women in Nairobi and Kirinyaga counties are obese.

"In Naivasha where the pilot programme is being undertaken, one in four women is obese mainly due to changes in lifestyle and poor diet," she said.

On stunting, Mugambi said the country had made huge strides, with the number of children suffering from under-nutrition dropping from 35 to 26 per cent in four years.

Kasumi Sawada from Africascam said the mobile phone application would be managed by volunteer community health workers.

Kasumi expressed concern over the high obesity levels mainly among women aged below 40 years, terming it a "disaster in waiting".

She added that plans were underway to roll out the application in the whole country in two years.

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