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Rumbidzayi Zinyuke in GWANDA
MATABELELAND South Province has recorded a marked decline in stunting rates among children who were part of a research by Government, through the Food and Nutrition Council (FNC) and local universities, to determine how mopane worms can be used to address micronutrient deficiencies.
The University of Zimbabwe (UZ), Chinhoyi University of Technology (CUT), Marondera University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (MUAST) as well as Abertay University and Sheffield University from the United Kingdom in partnership with the FNC, the Ministry of Health and Child Care and the Forestry Commission under the Insects 4 Nutrition project, developed Manutro, a nutritious pearl millet porridge fortified with mopane worms, which was fed to a total of 214 children aged between seven and 13 years in Ward 13, Gwanda.
Preliminary results showed that stunting declined from 8,6 percent to 7,8 percent among the children fed with the fortified porridge while it remained constant at 6,3 percent among children fed with only pearl millet porridge.
Speaking at a close out meeting for the project, Dr Prosper Chopera, the co-principal investigator in the Insects 4 Nutrition project, said blood samples taken from participants were still being analysed and results would be available in the first half of next year.
“We think that the high protein, zinc and iron in the mopane worm may have contributed to better growth in the intervention group. However, more results will come out, and this will help us substantiate and validate what we have right now,” she said.
Studies have shown that mopane worms could supply at least 50 percent of the recommended daily allowance for iron, protein and zinc to children.
Villagers in Garanyemba whose children were part of the study said the porridge was nutritional and had contributed towards the health of their children.
Mrs Sibonile Mafu said: “This programme came in and helped some of our children who were undernourished. Because of the drought, families did not have enough food to ensure children had something to eat so this porridge helped us avert hunger. My child was performing badly in school but since she started eating the porridge in the morning before leaving for school, she has improved. This term, she performed very well,” she said.
Another villager Ms Future Ndlovu said her child below the age of five had also benefited.
“Although he was not part of the programme, he would eat the porridge whenever his sister was having it. In the 6 months that they have been eating it, both children have gained weight. With this drought, we are not able to provide nutritious food all the time. We hope we will continue to get the porridge so that we maintain the progress they have made,” she added.
Community health workers were on the frontline to monitor the consumption of the porridge while also educating the villagers on nutrition and WASH issues.
Said Mrs Christine Mpofu, a community health worker in Mawane village: “The children that we identified for this programme were really not getting enough nutrition, and some were stunted. Some of them were visibly frail, and even their skin did not look healthy. After eating the porridge for about two months, we started seeing a difference. They had gained weight, and they looked much healthier. We monitored the way the porridge was prepared and its consumption. We did not get a report of a child who developed adverse reactions to the porridge,” she said.
UZ head of department of Nutrition Dietetics and Food Science Dr Tonde Matsungo the results would inform the decision to upscale production of the fortified porridge which could also be used in the schools feeding programme.
“The Government is promoting the concept of a school feeding programme which entails utilising our local resources and I think the biggest challenge currently was having a lot of cereal supplied to schools but they don’t have the relish. The porridge is an alternative which doesn’t need relish so the children are fed and they can learn better,” he said.
Mopani worms, which are found in abundance in most parts of Matabeleland South, are consumed as a delicacy and are also a good source of livelihoods for the communities.
However, due to the El Niño induced drought, there have been limited supply of mopani worms.
The Insects 4 Nutrition projects seeks to address the challenges of availability of the mopane worm and works with the communities to preserve it and encourage sustainable harvesting.
Food and Nutrition Council Director General Dr George Kembo this was part of the multi-sectoral response to food and nutrition security issues.
“We wanted to understand the consumption patterns in the defined identified areas, especially on edible insects, and we identified mopane worm as one of the avenues that could possibly be used to promote nutrient consumption, especially the necessary minerals for human growth,” he said.
Dr Kembo said historically, even without scientific backup, local foods promote human growth and also were perceived to be associated with long life.
“So, the interest of the FNC is now to bring the science around the micronutrient composition of these foods.”
Secretary for Matabeleland South Provincial Affairs and Devolution Mrs Latiso Dlamini-Maseko said the mopani worm was a common food source for many communities, hence the promotion of their use in fighting malnutrition was opportune.
Online Reporter