Machel was in the country for a presentation at the 4th annual general meeting Partnership for Nutrition in Tanzania (PANITA). PANITA is the official civil society wing for Scaling up Nutrition (SUN) in Tanzania and its members are in various district nutrition steering committees.
The SUN, referred to in full as, Civil Society Network (SUN CSN) is made up of national and international organisations working in various fields, including women empowerment, humanitarian-aid, trade unions and nutrition.
In her presentation, she highlighted the need for concerted efforts to scale up the fight against malnutrition in children and pregnant mothers.
“The problem of malnutrition among children is a tragedy for all African countries and it is imperative that a comprehensive strategy is formulated and implemented to eliminate the problem,” she told the pact hall full of various nutrition stakeholders.
She said just as many children do not receive proper nutrition, pregnant women also do suffer from severe malnutrition during the 1,000 days from conception to delivery.
To mitigate the problem, she called for the stakeholders to set ambitious targets and seek aid to implement them; "the problem is that you lack concrete strategic plans that will attract various health stakeholders to act quickly in support of the movement," she said.
Further, she emphasized inclusiveness and recommended that stakeholders direct their focus to rural areas not only to deliver solutions but to also citizens opinions about malnutrition and their suggested solutions.
"You have to reach rural citizens, get their opinion and also impart them with knowledge about malnutrition it’s not enough to tell them to eat nutritious meals, what they need is comprehensive education,” she emphasized.
She also cited the need for commitment by all sectors of society to work together to implement a comprehensive approach that includes creating policies that address the inequities that persist among regions, ethnic groups and wealth quintiles;
“we must combine the skills and resources we have for better and efficient allocation where they are most needed,” she said and urged the government to allocate enough budget in fighting malnutrition as well as to support organisation that volunteer to fight against malnutrition in the country.
One such organisation is the Partnership for Nutrition in Tanzania (PANITA), the official Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) network in the country and it was established in 2010. The SUN Civil Society Network (SUN CSN) is made up of national and international organisations working in various fields, including women empowerment, humanitarian-aid, trade unions and nutrition.
In her comments, PANITA Program Coordinator, Jane Msagati said on the global arena, Tanzania has actively participated to reduce malnutrition. These efforts are evident in its part in the Scaling up Nutrition (SUN) and its signing and implementing various international treaties such as the Maputo and Malabo declarations both of which are aimed at reducing malnutrition and ending hunger.
“The above mentioned efforts have so far contributed to reduction of malnutrition as shown by key indicators from the national nutrition survey 2014, stunting dropped from 48 per cent in 1999 to 34.7 per cent in 2014, underweight fell from 25 per cent in 1999 to 13 per cent 2014 while wasting declined from 6 per cent to 4 per cent in the same period,” she pointed out.
She said despite the notable progress in fighting malnutrition still some challenges remains. Notably, approximately more than 2.7 million children under five years of age are stunted in Tanzania (2015).Out of the stunted children 58 per cent live in 10 regions which are not benefiting from key nutrition innervations.
Msagati detailed that about 435,000 children less than five years of age suffer from acute malnutrition including more than 105,000 who suffer acute malnutrition.
“These children are at high risk of dying if they do not receive appropriate attention,” she warned and highlighted the fact that Indicators of Infant and Young Feeding (IYCF) practice did not improve between 2010 and 2014.
The second notable challenge is the slow progress in increasing nutrition spending compared to estimates provided in the five year costed plan for national nutrition strategic plan. For example, in 2014, Tanzania spent only about 0.022 per cent of its national budget on innervations designed to improve nutrition in the country.
PANITA Executive Director, Tumaini Mikindo said that, the government is spending more than 800 million in serving children with stunting.“Since pregnancy conception woman should eat nutritious foods eventually the child to be born will be healthier “he said that
Mikindo pointed out that if a pregnant woman fails to get proper nutrition then the child will be born must have stunting.
He said that there is a great need to create awareness in the community related to nutrition during pregnancy in order to end the problem of stunting in children.
The Graça Machel Trust
The Graça Machel Trust works across the continent to amplify women’s movements, influence governance, and advocate for the protection of children’s rights and dignity. The Trust consolidates the work of its founder, Graça Machel and seeks to build on her legacy by inspiring the young generation to take up new challenges and create societies that value and care about social justice.
Its main mission is to amplify the voices of women's movements, influence governance, and promote women's leadership and contributions in the economic, social, and political development of Africa. We also advocate for the protection of children's rights and dignity
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