Concern as Kamwenge malnutrition cases climb

Kamwenge is the second worst malnutrition hit district in Uganda, after Kabalore.

Speaking to Monitor, Dr Robert Kato, senior clinical officer in charge of Buguri Health Centre III in Kamwenge, said the facility records 14 cases of chronic malnutrition among children each month.

"We don’t have staff that are trained with the capacity to handle these nutrition cases yet this is a significant number that needs to be well addressed,” Kato said.

Rukunyu Hospital nutritionist Emmanuel Tumusiime said the facility annually averages 38 cases of severe malnutrition among children, some of which end up fatal if parents don’t seek timely medical attention.

Health workers say they are screening and building capacities of mothers to tame malnutrition, but parents offer little or no attention to their efforts.

“We have high levels of stunting in Kamwenge, caused by prolonged periods of not having enough nutrients in the body,” Tumusiime observed on Monday.

“And this is because nutrition is very poor from pregnancy up to when the child is five years, putting our stunting levels at 41 percent which is above the national average of 26 percent.”

Last weekend, lawmakers in the Uganda Parliamentary Alliance on Food and Nutrition Security urged residents in Kamwenge District to intensify efforts to fight malnutrition.

The legislators were speaking at an event in Busiriba Sub-county to evaluate the impact of malnutrition in Kamwenge District ahead of commemorating the May 28 International Day for Nutrition.

Local authorities decried gender inequality and marital violence as causes of malnutrition.

"Men in Kamwenge should allow their women to take responsibility in their families; they should stop selling food from their women's houses and should be sensitized," Kamwenge District senior community development officer Prime Birungi said.

Citing favorable conditions for agriculture in Kamwenge District like adequate rain, fertile land, and abundant food, she wondered why the district was ranked Uganda’s 2^nd worst in malnutrition.

Action against Hunger program manager Peter Eceru said: "There is need to tap into the community health strategy to ensure village health teams participate in processes of dealing with malnutrition.”

He further cautioned that “prevention of malnutrition is key because its treatment costs are extremely high.”