Down the slopes of Shimba Hills, away from the cool Kwale breeze, lies a sleepy but silently unavoidable dusty old town, Kinango.
The town is a health disaster waiting to happen. Seventy per cent of the population defecates in the bush.
Malnutrition levels stand at about 30 per cent, says area nutrition officer Margaret Kimeu.
She says perennial drought conspires with poverty to worsen malnutrition. Today, the reality for Kinango residents is that they are food-insecure.
“A mere three out of 10 families have toilets,” Kimeu says.
Prior to the long rains in May, the region had at least 40 per cent toilet coverage. However, recent heavy rains that pounded the region demolished most toilets.
Kinango’s population of 209,560 needs both long-term and short-term measures to solve the malnutrition problem.
Worse still, most residents are infected by worms.
Children, especially those under five years, are the most affected by the malnutrition due to lack of Vitamin A and worm infection.
DRUG PROGRAMME
Kinango Community chairperson Rai Nyae says the situation needs to be tackled urgently.
He says residents urgently need to be assisted to put up toilets and ensure that all children receive Vitamin A supplements and deworming treatment regularly.
“This problem can only be solved once we have adequate toilets. We have also been enlightened to ensure that we take our children to the clinic for regular Vitamin A supplements and deworming treatments,” Nyae says.
On October 21, Map International Kenya organised a community education forum in Kinango on the importance of Vitamin A supplements and deworming treatments.
Map International-Kenya is an NGO promoting dissemination of Vitamin A supplement and deworming for children below five years under the “Every Child Thrives” project.
During the Kinango event at Amani Primary School, more than 200 children received Vitamin A supplements and deworming treatments.
Map International Kenya launched the ECT project in August last year to complement the national government’s efforts in administering Vitamin A supplements and deworming treatment to children under five.
The ECT project is a mass drug administration programme that targets children from 6–59 months old in Kwale, Kilifi and Siaya counties.
ECT programmes coordinator Joseph Anyango says children in this age group are especially vulnerable to worm infections and Vitamin A deficiency, and often miss the radar of the national drug administration programmes run through schools.
“This gap in treatment puts them at risk for worm infections and Vitamin A deficiency, which causes blindness, stunted growth, malnutrition, anaemia, poor physical health and reduced mental acuity,” he says.
The project seeks to ensure close to one million children benefit from deworming treatments and Vitamin A supplements every year, Anyango says.
PORRIDGE TREAT
Kinango women, who turned up in droves with their children, were also given several kilos of nutritious flour. The flour is used to prepare healthy and nutritious porridge for their children.
Kimeu says the porridge flour is a complete meal in itself to children with a high risk of malnutrition.
She says the region has so many cases of children who are unhealthy because of poor feeding habits.
There are so many underweight children, the actual percentage stands at around 20 per cent, says Kimeu. She has been working closely with local women in fighting malnutrition.
“Today, we have given them this special porridge flour to prepare something for their young ones,” she says.
Kadzo, a mother of four, promised to ensure her children are immunised and taken for regular medical follow-ups.
Elders in attendance promised to accompany their women during hospital visits and immunisations.