‘Women key to good nutrition’

WOMEN have a huge role to play in bringing down alarming levels of malnutrition in Zambia, Azimai Farmers Association secretary Esther Sitwala has said.

Ms Sitwala noted that malnutrition still remained a threat to many mothers and children, especially in rural areas. She attributed this to the worsening poverty levels and increased food insecurity.

Ms Sitwala said this had greatly contributed to the alarming rate of morbidity and mortality in the country, a situation she said should be quickly addressed.

“The levels of malnutrition have continued to rise in Zambia, especially in rural areas where proper food and balanced diet is hard to get. This has really contributed to the alarming rate of morbidity and mortality in children today, which is a very serious situation that needs attention,” Ms. Sitwala said.

Ms. Sitwala observed that women were often victims of hunger but had a crucial role to play in defeating the scourge.

She stressed that most women being farmers were key to building a future free of malnutrition and encouraged women to engage in vegetable farming to help tackle the problem.

“In a home, usually its women who determine what the family eats; so teaching and encouraging them how to protect themselves and their families against hunger, especially through farming, could help in addressing malnutrition,” Ms Siltwala said.

Ms Sitwala explained that sometimes malnutrition was caused not only by lack of food but also the right kind of food.

She said that in most cases, even when families had enough to eat, their diet lacked certain nutrients, resulting in malnutrition among children, pregnant women and nursing mothers who needed a high intake of vitamins and minerals.