Kenya will from Wednesday host the fourth National Nutrition Symposium in an effort to eradicate all forms of malnutrition in the country.
The two days event has been organised under the theme, ‘Eradicating malnutrition in all its forms: Stepping up political, multi-sectoral, and interdisciplinary action towards nutrition resilience’."
According to the Ministry of Health, the symposium is a critical step towards a healthier and nourished future.
It has been organized jointly by the ministry and partners include Unicef, World Food Programme, USAID, PATH, nutrition international, Action Against Hunger, concern worldwide, and the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics.
Others include the Kenya Red Cross, the International potato centre, UKAID, Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, and the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN).
This comes as a section of Kenyans continue to bear the brunt of the prolonged drought that has hit the country with children and women being the worst hit.
According to Unicef, at least Sh17 billion will be required to meet the needs of children and families affected by drought in Kenya in 2023.
The target is to reach at least 300,000 people through emergency monthly cash transfers.
Estimates show that around 2.8 million people in drought-affected areas need monthly cash transfers to buy food and water, clothes, medicines, pay school fees, and other daily essentials.
Unicef has been supporting the government to scale up nutrition services and is distributing therapeutic milk and ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) to health centers.
The UN agency has also played a key role in identifying and treating children and women with malnutrition in the hardest-to-reach areas, through mass screening.
