Kenya, like many other countries, is striving to address the complex and multifaceted challenges of malnutrition.
According to the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (2022), 18 percent of children under five are stunted, 10 percent are underweight, and nearly half of pregnant women suffer from iron deficiency anemia Director of Nutrition and Dietetics Services, Ministry of Health Veronica Kirogo, speaking during a media toolkit dissemination and media review workshop organized by Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), said these statistics were 'a call to action'. "Malnutrition continues to cost our nation dearly, with losses estimated at 373.9 billion shillings annually, equivalent to 6.9percent of our GDP," said Kirogo, in a speech read on her behalf by Emmanuel Mwenda, Project Officer in the Monitoring and Evaluation Department of Nutrition.
Kirogo explained that the government recognizes that to reverse this trend, there was need to go beyond health interventions alone.
The Ministry of Health, through the CAtalyzing Strengthened policy aCtion for heAlthy Diets and resiliencE (CASCADE) project under GAIN and in partnership with County governments and development partners, is committed to strengthening multi-sectoral approaches, especially at the community level, Kirogo added.
