Chronicle Editor
Thandeka Moyo-Ndlovu, Senior Health
Boys suffer most from nutrition deficiency diseases like global acute malnutrition (GAM), wasting, overweight and obesity, statistics from the Zimbabwe Vulnerability Assessment Committee (ZimVAC) show.
Stunting, according to the report, remains high in Zimbabwe at 26,7 percent which is higher than the World Health Organisation’s 20 percent threshold.
“Major drivers of malnutrition include lack of diversity and sub-optimal infant feeding practices prevailing in this region,” reads the report.
Wasting is a life-threatening form of malnutrition, which makes children too thin and weak and puts them at greater risk of death, poor growth, development and learning.
Stunting is the impaired growth and development that children experience from poor nutrition, repeated infection and inadequate psychosocial stimulation. In Bulawayo and Harare Provinces, about 671 children were admitted for treatment of malnutrition between June 2021 and March 2022.
About 323 children were successfully treated but the major challenge remains the high rate of defaulters. Some mothers fail to take their children back to the health facilities for child growth monitoring check-ins due to long distances to the clinics and also poor health seeking behaviour.
ZimVAC said 7,7 percent of boys suffer from GAM compared to 6,7 of girls while 4,5 percent boys are overweight compared to girls.
The report also shows that obesity is more prevalent in boys at 2,4 percent compared to girls whose rate stands at 2,1 percent.
“All the provinces had stunting rates surpassing the WHO threshold of 20 percent with Matabeleland North recording the highest rate of 35,3 percent while Masvingo had the lowest rate of 22,9 percent.
The prevalence of global acute malnutrition was 7,2 percent, overweight 4,2 percent and obesity 2,2 percent,” read the report.
The 2021 ZimVAC report showed a national Global Acute Malnutrition (GAM) prevalence of 2,8 percent, with a Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) rate of 1,1 percent. The proportion of children aged 6 to 23 months receiving a minimum acceptable diet was at three percent.
The committee recommended that active screening be conducted in all districts to minimise malnutrition.
“Active screening is recommended in all districts as the prevalence GAM (7 percent) is above the five percent WHO emergency threshold. Priority must be given to provinces with the highest prevalence. There is also a need to mobilise rehabilitation commodities for the management of Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM),’ read the ZimVAC report.
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