Implement nutrition policies to curb rate of malnutrition

For long, food and nutrition has been given less attention and yet it is the major driver of human health. You cannot speak of a healthy nation and a vibrant economy while ignoring nutrition.

Recently at the civil society review meeting of the Food and Nutrition Policy 2003, it was discovered that the responsible authorities are spending more time and money in the process rather than producing tangible results.

It should be noted that more than two million children are malnourished and according to World Food Programme, malnutrition costs Uganda 5 per cent of its GDP and these are serious consequences on a nation like Uganda.
I am aware that the ministries of Health and Agriculture have put in place strategies to tame this through various programmes but many are either pilots, or are still lacking the implementation infrastructure.

In a bid to have a prosperous nation with happy and healthy people, the authorities should expedite the implementation of policies such as the mandatory inclusion of fortified Vitamin A in wheat, maize and edible oil by manufactures, deploying nutritionists at district health centres, fast tracking the process of inclusion of Vitamin A in bananas, rice and cassava, reviewing (and not repealing) the existing food and nutrition policy, among others. A healthy population is a healthy nation!


Michael Aboneka Jr

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