At least 50,000 children under the age of five in Siaya are stunted due to chronic malnutrition, a new survey shows.
The Kenya Demographic and Health Survey of 2018 also cited poverty and lack of responsive caregiving as factors contributing to stuntedness.
The report said out of 200,000 children under five, 25 per cent were stunted.
On Sunday, county first lady Rozella Rasanga launched an initiate the combat stuntedness. Dubbed 'Smart Start Siaya,' the initiative aims at sensitising residents on proper nutrition and responsive caregiving.
Rozella said it was unfortunate that Siaya's rate of stuntedness had gone beyond the national average of 24 per cent.
She said they will do everything possible to reach children and their parents through the health sector and other initiatives.
The Smart Start Siaya will ensure caregivers have the tools and information to promote health, nutrition and responsiveness, Rozella said.
She said the initiative was a multi-sectoral approach that will involve all residents with the aim of eliminating the scourge by 2030.
The county health management team will partner with NGOs including Path, Unicef and Plan International to fight the stuntedness.
Rozella said all non-governmental organisations will be required to include nurturing care in their activities.
Governor Cornell Rasanga rallied behind the initiative and promised to scale up policies, programmes, and services that nurture the care department.
Rasanga said the county was in the process of enacting a Health bill that will anchor nurturing care in service delivery as a high impact intervention against stuntedness.
"We will also use community health volunteers to provide counseling as additional support through home visits," Rasanga said.
Health chief officer Samuel Omondi said they had already prioritised early childhood development to enable children to achieve optimal growth.
The leaders spoke in Kisumu where the initiative was launched.
Edited by peter obuya
