Online Reporter
Rumbidzayi Zinyuke in MT DARWIN
ZIMBABWE has stepped up efforts to improve early childhood development (ECD) outcomes through a comprehensive training programme targeting Food and Nutrition Security Committees (DFNSC) across the country.
The training, being coordinated by the Food and Nutrition Council, is part of a broader initiative to build local capacity to address the root causes of malnutrition through integrated interventions that link health, agriculture, education, and social protection.
The training comes at a time when Zimbabwe continues to face major malnutrition challenges.
According to the 2024 Zimbabwe Livelihoods Assessment Report, 26 percent of children under the age of five are stunted, with 6 percent classified as severely stunted.
About 30 percent of Zimbabwean children aged three to four years are developmentally off-track, with just 10 percent meeting expected literacy and numeracy milestones.
Stunting, which reflects chronic under-nutrition, has lifelong implications for a child’s physical growth and cognitive development.
Speaking on the sidelines of the training in Mt Darwin, National Food and Nutrition Security Committee Chairperson Mrs Nesta Gumbo said five provinces were currently undergoing training with the expectation of reaching all district committees.
“We are doing a national training on early childhood development and we are taking into consideration the fact that food and nutrition security issues should not be handled by one ministry. It needs concerted effort, hence we are going for the multi-sectoral approach to addressing food and nutrition security issues,” she said.
“Early childhood development starts from the day of conception to eight years and we are looking at all issues that contribute to childhood development. This is important because from a well-developed child, we then have good productivity when that child grows up. We are realising that development of the brain of a child is key, especially in the later years of that child. So it’s important that we promote early childhood development if we want to have a food-secure nation and if we want to attain the Sustainable Development Goals that we are assigned to as a country.”
Experts note that 80 percent of a child’s brain is developed by age three, with the early years shaping lifelong learning, health, and productivity.
The ongoing training sessions in Chipinge and Mt Darwin have highlighted the effectiveness of a multi-sectoral approach to early childhood development in the country.
District Development Coordinator for Chipinge, Mr William Mashava, said the district has historically struggled with high levels of stunting, not because of a lack of food, but due to limited knowledge about nutrition and dietary practices.
“Chipinge is a food-rich district, but many people still do not eat properly. We realised that poor maternal nutrition and social conditions during pregnancy contribute to stunting. The health of the child depends on the well-being of the mother, so we need to support both through nutrition, emotional care, and protection from gender-based violence,” he said.
Mr Mashava said all key ministries, including Health, Education, Agriculture, and Women Affairs, met every two months to address challenges affecting children and their families.
DFNSC Chair for Chipinge, Mr Vincent Musinake, said the committee was actively monitoring school feeding programmes, food production, and the consumption of nutritious foods across communities.
He acknowledged that some wards in the district had recorded malnutrition cases and highlighted the importance of awareness campaigns and agricultural diversification in reversing the trend.
“Chipinge is unique because it spans all five agroecological regions, which allows us to grow a wide variety of crops and rear livestock. Through initiatives like Pfumvudza, irrigation schemes, and village business units, we are promoting year-round food availability and dietary diversity,” said Mr Musinake.
In supporting these agricultural efforts, the Ministry of Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprise Development is providing entrepreneurship training to help households generate income and invest in nutritious food.
The education sector has also stepped up.
Mr Gray Mudondo, a principal educational psychologist in the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, said the ministry had moved to profile children before enrolment to assess physical growth, cognitive ability, and nutritional status.
“Previously, we were left behind in terms of screening learners before they came to school. We usually had all learners enrolled to school before profiling, where we are looking at the child in totality in terms of their physical and cognitive growth and if there are any disabilities, the obvious and those that are not obvious,” he said.
Mr Mudondo also noted that schools were increasingly working with the Ministry of Health to assess children’s nutritional deficiencies and provide necessary supplementation, while school-based village business units were producing fresh foods to support feeding programmes.
Nutrition assistant at Mt Darwin Hospital Mr Rangarirai Chakari said nutrition-focused programmes were having a positive impact on the development of children.
“In terms of nutrition, the government has put some mitigation measures to improve the health quality of children in the school by introducing a school feeding program, which is improving the turnout of the children to the school and reducing school drop-outs. The government has also introduced what we call a school nutrition program that is offering iron and folate to adolescents,” he said.
By embedding ECD and nutrition training within existing community structures and fostering inter-ministerial collaboration, FNC is helping to transform Zimbabwe’s fight against malnutrition.
The approach recognises that a child’s development begins long before they step into a classroom, and that early investments in nutrition, care, and protection are critical to shaping healthier and more resilient future generations.
Bongani Ndlovu