Malnutrition to Cost Country in Billions - Minister Country to Launch the National Nutrition Strategy

from All Africa

The Daily Monitor (Addis Ababa)

By Biniyam Tamene
Addis Ababa

If malnutrition situation continues unabated, it will prove to be a serious threat to the nation's economic development, thereby costing billions of birr, a senior government official said on Tuesday.

According to State Minister of Health, Dr Shiferaw Teklemariam, the country, provided the current trend remains unchanged, will inure an estimated 144 billion birr due to stunting, Iodine Deficiency Disorders (IDD) and Iron Deficiency Anaemia (IDA) alone until 2015.

He said the country's health strategy which considers malnutrition as a major public health problem, was reflective of government's commitment to invest in the sector to build healthy and productive citizens for the future.

"The Government of Ethiopia is committed to the achievements of the PASDEP and then the Millennium Development Goals, in which nutrition stands by its own right and as an investment to build a healthy and productive foundation for the future," the state minister Dr Shiferaw stated According to the state minister, causes of under nutrition are rather complex but generally related to food insecurity; poor maternal and child care practices, limited access to basic health services and poor hygiene and environmental conditions According to DHS 2005 data, significant reduction in rates of chronic malnutrition (stunting from 52% to 470/c) has been achieved in recent years. Acute malnutrition (wasting) however has remained unchanged at 1l%. The percentage of children underweight (low weight for age) declined by 19 percent from 47% in 2000 to 38% in 2005, according to the state minister.

"Ethiopia has developed and is about to launch the National Nutrition Strategy (NNS) through which it aims to address nutritional problems more comprehensively and urgently," the state minister said.

The state minister indicated that the general goal of the National Nutrition Strategy is that all Ethiopians secure an optimum nutritional status, which is an essential requirement for a healthy and productive life.

According to the state minister the strategy would be given more focus to vulnerable section of the population including children, especially under two, Pregnant and lactating women, those infected and living with HIV and Aids, displaced population groups and those who are coping with acute food insecurity crises.

The state minister further indicated the NNS intended to play a major advocacy to raise awareness about nutrition and enhance mainstreaming of nutrition among relevant sectors The NNS would be launched in the beginning of February, this year, together with the National Lancet Series that exclusively deal with maternal and under nutrition issues "Basically the NNP will be a 10-years program, while the first 5-year phase is to take place between 2008-12," he said adding that the financing and implementation of the NNP considers active involvement of the Government, donors and all relevant stakeholders According to DHS 2005 data, significant reduction in rates of chronic malnutrition (stunting from 52% to 470/c) has been achieved in recent years. Acute malnutrition (wasting) however has remained unchanged at 1l%. The percentage of children underweight (low weight for age) declined by 19 percent from 47% in 2000 to 38% in 2005.