• Counties in the Arid and Semi-Arid areas are the worst hit, a situation that has been blamed on the prolonged drought experienced in the country.
• Under nutrition is still the leading cause of death of children under the age of five in Kenya.
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At least 754,906 children below the age of five require intervention and treatment for acute malnutrition.
This is according to the Integrated Phase Classification for Acute Malnutrition survey conducted in the 47 counties during the month of February.
Acute malnutrition is a form of under-nutrition caused by a decrease in food consumption or illness that results in sudden weight loss or fluid retention.
The survey also shows that 103,286 pregnant and lactating women require treatment for acute malnutrition.
Counties in the arid and semi-arid areas are the worst hit, a situation that has been blamed on the prolonged drought experienced in the country.
They counties include Baringo, Mandera, Marsabit, Nyeri, Samburu, Taita Taveta and Tana River.
“This is attributed to the continued minimal milk consumption at household level due to decrease in production. Also, fewer number of integrated health outreaches delivering essential nutrition services,” the report says.
Acting Health director general Patrick Amoth said the Health ministry in collaboration with the affected counties has activated the nutrition response.
He spoke during the first national maternal infant and young child nutrition symposium last week.
Amoth said the response includes supply of the nutrition lifesaving commodities, nutrition screening and integrated outreaches.
“The prevailing drought has adversely affected the most vulnerable groups especially, children under five years, pregnant and lactating women.
“The most notable impact includes interruption of breastfeeding and poor complementary feeding practices resulting in increased risk of malnutrition, illness and mortality,” he said.
The ministry has also developed draft guidelines for maternal, infant and young child nutrition during emergencies.
The guidelines will help implementation of multi-sectoral actions to protect, promote and support exclusive breastfeeding, as well as safe and appropriate complementary feeding practices.
Acute malnutrition can be moderate or severe and prolonged malnutrition can cause stunted growth, otherwise known as stunting.
Stunting in early childhood has health consequences that can affect children throughout their lives.
Action against Hunger estimates that 55 million children worldwide under the age of five suffer from acute malnutrition; 19 million of these suffer from severe acute malnutrition while 3.1 million children die of malnutrition annually.
WHO says recent studies suggest that severe acute malnutrition in children above six months, who have no medical complications, can be managed at the community level. This is done using specially formulated ready-to-use therapeutic foods.
Under nutrition is still the leading cause of death of children under the age of five in Kenya.
UNICEF’s global report Fed to Fail, released in September last year, indicated that lower-income families struggle to access and afford nutritious foods for their young children.
In Kenya, families face economic, political, social or cultural barriers to providing nutritious diets to young children.
“High maternal workloads can also reduce quality time between mothers and children. These challenges are worsened in emergency situations, where access to nutritious food, clean drinking water and quality health services are limited,” Unicef Kenya Nutrition manager Abiud Omwega said.
He said malnutrition represents an often-invisible impediment to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals in Kenya.
This, Omwega said, results not just from a lack of sufficient and adequately nutritious and safe food, but from a host of intertwined factors.
The factors are linked to health care, education, water, sanitation and hygiene, access to food and resources and women empowerment.
(Edited by Bilha Makokha)