MALNUTRITION CONTINUES TO BE ONE OF THE BURDENS TO ZAMBIA’S HEALTH SECTOR

The National Food and Nutrition Commission says malnutrition continues to be one of the burdens to Zambia’s health sector.

In her presentation at the opening of the 2023 Scaling-Up Nutrition National Conference in Lusaka today, Commission Executive Director Mupanga Mapani says Zambia is now also seeing a new trend of over-malnutrition.

Dr. Mapani says this can be seen in the rise in cases of obesity and diabetes among the population which requires urgent attention so that the country can save on expenditure to the public health sector.

And officially opening the conference, Health Minister Sylvia Masebo is concerned that the rate of reducing malnutrition especially stunting in the country has been very slow.

Ms. Masebo says there is urgent need for concerted and sustained efforts as well as collaboration among relevant stakeholders to change this picture adding that as things stand, Zambia is at risk of missing out on its target of reducing stunting by 25 percent by the year 2030.

The National Food and Nutrition Commission has since 2019 been coordinating the implementation of the scaling up nutrition aimed at reducing the high level of stunting among children under 2 years and is now in its second phase.