Malnutrition cases may increase in this lockdown-CISANU advises parents
By Julius Muhumuza
Civil Society Alliance for nutrition Uganda has raised a concern that malnutrition Cases may increase in Uganda among children especially in urban areas due to lockdown that was caused by COVID-19 pandemic.
Nutrition is vital to children it has been discovered that during this lockdown there has been inadequate food especially to the vulnerable population in urban centers and slums as well as eating food that lacks growth-promoting nutrients.
According to Georgine Obwana programs officer of Civil society alliance for nutrition Uganda, there has been a lack of balanced diet among the children during this lockdown which may likely affect their health.
“Most of the families are surviving on a limited budget due to COVID 19 pandemic implications and they don’t know how to give their children a healthy diet”
Obwana advised parents to provide children with the most nutritious and available food like vegetables, fruits, enough water and those with children breastfeeding should breastfeed them to the maximum because low breastfeeding of children leads to stunting.
“Nutrition plays a very big role in the social-economic development of the country therefore parents should take the issue of balancing the diet of their children vital”.
Civil society alliance for nutrition Uganda also urged parents to ensure that their children do enough physical exercises in this lockdown when they are not studying to avoid obesity. Malnutrition leading to stunting causes diseases like anemia, kwashiorkor due to lack of proteins, and many other diseases.
In Uganda, it is estimated that about 2.3 million young children are chronically malnourished.
