The nutrition situation in Kajiado is worrying as 25.3 per cent of children born suffer growth impairment, the county nutrition coordinator has said.
According to the latest Kenya Demographic Health Survey, 26 per cent of children who are born countrywide, suffer impaired growth.
Kajiado nutrition coordinator Ruth Nasinkoi, who was presenting a report on the state of nutrition in the region to journalists on Wednesday, said the trend is worrying because of the negative effects of stunting on children.
Nasinkoi said stunting is caused by poor diet, hygiene, infections, and expectant women walking long distances to health facilities, food security and low nutrition knowledge among communities.
She also said the heavy workload on Maasai women impacts negatively on the development of a child.
The workshop was sponsored by the Kenya Aids NGOs Consortium and the county government to build the capacity of journalists on the importance of early childhood development.
In every four births, one child has impaired growth in Kajiado owing to poor diet diversification perpetuated by poverty, the official said.
Nasinkoi said impaired growth in children, if not corrected between the date of birth and second birthday, will result in poor cognition and education outcomes.
“We can correct this anomaly by improving growth monitoring, nutrition education, counselling, integrated management of acute malnutrition and food by prescription,” said Nasinkoi.
She said owing to the worrying situation of malnutrition, the county students may not compete fairly with others in national examinations.
Early childhood capitation grant for children joining school in Nairobi is Sh3,400 per child while those in Kajiado get Sh1,000 per child in selected centres.
Nasinkoi said impaired growth in children can be corrected before and after a child is born from the third week of conception, through birth and before its second birthday.
While making a presentation on the cost of undernutrition on health, education and productivity in Kenya, Rahab Mwaniki of Kanco said undernutrition increases the risk of illness and death among children.
Mwaniki said out of 7.22 million children under the age of five years in the country, 26 per cent are stunted, four per cent wasted, and 11 per cent are underweight.
Undernourishment, Mwaniki said, is associated with incidences of diarrhoea, acute respiratory infections, pneumonia, malaria and anaemia.
“According to the government demographic report of 2014, 2.1 million episodes of illness among children associated with underweight cost the country Sh13.1 billion, while low birth weight utilised Sh4.75 billion (25 per cent) of the total cost for treatment of childhood illness,” said Mwaniki.
She said children who are stunted before the age of five are more likely to underperform in school compared to non-stunted children.
“According to demographic report, 17.6 per cent of all repetitions in schools were associated with stunting—94, 708 stunted repeaters.
Mwaniki said undernutrition in children, specifically stunting, harms their productivity at later stages in life, and it is estimated that out of 31 million working people, 12.9 million were stunted as children,” said Mwaniki.
-Edited by Skanyara
