Story by Abigirl Tembo, Health Editor
Government in partnership with community health workers is on a drive to eradicate malnutrition in rural areas through providing vital healthcare services and education to families.
According to the 2024 ZIMLAC Rural Assessment Report, malnutrition remains a persistent challenge in Zimbabwe, particularly in rural areas where access to nutritious food has been affected by the El Niño-induced drought.
The report reveals worrying statistics, with 27.4% of rural children experiencing stunting and 4.9% suffering from wasting.
However, community health workers, trained by the Ministry of Health and Child Care, are working closely with the Food and Nutrition Council and local communities to turn the tide against malnutrition.
In Gwanda, these workers have been providing vital support to malnourished children, with remarkable results.
“We educate the adults on the importance of giving children nutritious foods. This does not mean that they have to go out of their way to buy expensive food stuffs but they can use the foods available to them. We have food that we grow on our own such at pumpkins, potatoes, peanuts, roundnuts and others. We do this to ensure that children get all the necessary nutrients needed for them to grow and they do not stunt. So we tell them that it is not only store bought food that gives children nutrients,” said Garanyemba village health worker, Sithembiso Lungu.
“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. Even though the children did not like the taste at first but they got accustomed and started enjoying it. We would monitor the way the porridge was and if they were eating it. We did not get a report of a child who developed adverse reactions to the porridge,” said Mawane Village health worker, Christine Mpofu.
The impact of community health workers is evident in the district.
“The village health workers, they do infant and young child feeding to the community, targeting mothers of children under five. And they also chip in into environmental health issues like the wash issues so that whenever they are preparing food for their children, they prepare it in a clean environment using clean and safe water to reduce malnutrition because diseases like diarrhea, which are caused by poor sanitation, also increase the cases of malnutrition.
“They are really complementing the ministry of health and child care because right now the only people that are on the ground are the village health workers. Previously we had nutrition ward coordinators, but right now we don’t have them, so it’s the village health workers that complement the nutrition activities. And they also do active screening, especially in this drought situation, they are doing active screening to identify the cases of malnutrition very fast, so that every child that is identified with malnutrition is referred to the clinic and treated right away, which we are saying they are identifying and treating right away to reduce the cases of malnutrition and also identifying them before they become severe,” explained Gwanda District Nutritionist, Ms Leratilwe Ngulube.
As Zimbabwe continues to address malnutrition, the role of community health workers has become increasingly crucial, highlighting the significant impact of community-driven healthcare initiatives.
