Plan to cut chronic malnutrition

The Mozambican government has set itself the ambitious task of reducing the rate of chronic malnutrition (stunting) among children under the age of five from the current figure of 44 per cent to 20 per cent by 2015.

Deputy Health Minister Nazira Abdula announced this target on 15 March at the launch of the National Committee for Fortifying Foodstuffs (CONFAM), which aims to fortify a range of foods by adding the micronutrients that many Mozambicans currently do not obtain in their diet.

Abdula said a multi-sector plan has been designed for reducing chronic malnutrition among under-fives. Among the institutions expected to play a role in this plan are the Ministries of Education, Youth and Sport, and Industry and Trade.

Abdula said that the problem of chronic malnutrition was not due to a shortage of food production, but to a lack of knowledge in households about how to use the available food. With the effort of all the sectors involved in the plan, Abdula said it would be possible to bring knowledge about nutrition to vulnerable households.

A recent assessment of the school curriculum, carried out jointly by the Health and Education Ministries, has led to the proposal to incorporate content on nutrition into the curriculum.

The Minister of Industry and Trade, Armando Inroga, said that CONFAM is an essential step to ensure success in fortifying food with micronutrients.

Fortifying commonly consumed foods is regarded as the most cost-effective strategy for preventing deficiency in micronutrients. So far the only fortification in Mozambique has been adding iodine to salt. A ministerial diploma made iodation compulsory in all salt sold in the country.

Further fortification would require “innovative strategies” involving all the relevant actors in the public and private sectors, including food producers.