Hands off Tsabana advices nutritionist
Nutrition consultant, Dr Lebo Eluya calls on parents to keep their hands away from Tsabana, and educates the public about dangers of denying children what it meant for them, PHEMELO RAMASU chats to her.
Dr Lebo Eluya says as the name suggests, Tsabana is strictly for children.
Tsabana is a mixture of white sorghum and soya beans, and is provided for free in a nationwide supplementary feeding programme that provides rations of specially formulated food for infants and young children by the Botswana Government through the Ministry of Health and Wellness.
Tsabana is given to infants and young children below the age of five years, and is distributed to children who attend the monthly Child Welfare Clinic free. Beneficiaries also get cooking oil. The good doctor says that the common practice of parents and guardians who eat Tsabana meant for children needs to come to an end.
Dr Eluya holds a PhD in Nutrition and is based at Gaborone Private Hospital, where she heads the Afiya Health and Diabetics Consultants Clinic. As unpopular as this piece of advice might make her, she explains that Tsabana was developed as a complimentary food to improve the diet quality of infants in Botswana but also serve as a dietary intervention product for the Under five-year-olds age group.
As a responsible citizen and Nutrition advocate especially for children, she highlights that it is her duty to educate the public about the dangers of denying children what it meant for them. “I know that I am going to be very unpopular, but the truth needs to told. Some parents would rather give their own children foods that are not nutritious so that they can enjoy Tsabana. It is not a secret that Tsabana is mostly consumed by adults,” she says, highlighting that a 2019 UNICEF report shared a general belief that Tsabana is consumed by adults and non beneficiary instead of the children themselves.
“Hearing that a friend or a relative is collecting Tsabana for a child, some adults may contact the parent or caregiver with pleas that they spare some for them. And then there is the believe by some men that Tsabana will strengthen their sexual performance,” she says.
Speaking in a strong tone, she called on the adults to stop this practice immediately. “How come adults would not take breast milk or infant formula which is meant for babies. What is stopping them.
Tsabana like the name says is meant for children not adults,” she calls sternly.
Sharing the nutritional benefits of this food that is sought after by mostly parents and guardians, she explains that it was meant to address the issue of malnutrition (under nutrition and stunted growth). “That is the main nutritional benefit. The government and the Ministry of Health and Wellness provides the fortified weaning food, Tsabana to infants to specifically alleviate infant under nutrition and nutritional deficiencies. The provision of Tsabana to infants was one of the programmes introduced to offer readily available essential nutrients likely to be missing in Batswana infants home diets such as energy and most micro nutrients including Zinc, Vitamin A, and the B Vitamins,” she explains.
She also highlights that during the development of Tsabana, emphasis was placed on its nutritional provision of adequate energy and protein. Sorghum which is the basis of Tsabana, she says is one of the cereals that constitute a major source of protein and minerals for people in Africa.
Contrary to popular belief that some infants refused to eat Tsabana, she explains that just like any unfamiliar foods for children, the children might start off by refusing to eat it. But notes that the one thing that parents and guardians needs to understand is that children adapt to taste very quickly with a little patience. I tend to believe that just because a child may refuse it once or twice does not mean that they cannot eat. It is almost similar to ordinary sorghum porridge anyway,” she notes.
She further says that in the unlikely event that a child genuinely refuses to eat it, it can still be mixed with sorghum porridge, and that the benefit will remain the same. Sharing one of the findings of a 2019 UNICEF report, she notes that the report indicated that a study that was conducted had discovered that 79 percent of children like Tsabana, and 19 percent of the children did not. Furthermore, she says that there is a common belief that Tsabana can cause diarrhoea especially in younger children. She says it has been found that this might be the case if a child digestive system is not yet accustomed to it or because the food has been wrongly prepared. She also cautions that there is a reason why the favourite meal must be prepared according to instructions, and for the specified length of 15 minutes.
It is speculated that caregivers receiving Tsabana lack information on its nutrition and health benefits and use such as why the product must cooked for 15 minutes in what quantities and how often infants eat the product. They might also not understand the product,” she says, adding that lack of information may promote inappropriate use of the product such as caregivers cooking it longer than 30 minutes.
“Prolonged cooking might affect some nutrients which are not heat resistant such as Vitamin C and B vitamins which are lost easily in cooking water. Folate levels will also decrease with prolonged heating. Prolonged cooking can also affect the palatability of the product because it tends to be very soft if cooked for too long,” she explains.