KAMPALA – For many people, providing adequate amounts of food for their family members is enough. It does not matter whether food contains the same food value, as long as quantities are enough. But this was considered a cause of malnutrition among people. To address this, the Hunger Project launched the Right to Grow Project in Kabale District on November 27.
The project will operate in areas of Kitumba and Kamuganzi sub-counties of Kabale District and its aim is for every child to reach their full potential; and no child under five is undernourished aligned to SDG 2.2, ending all forms of malnutrition by 2030, including achieving by 2025 the internationally agreed targets on stunting and wasting in children under five years of age, and address the nutritional needs of adolescent girls, pregnant and lactating women, and older persons.
According to Dr Daisy Owomugasho, the Hunger Project Executive, malnutrition levels are still high in some districts. “Although Uganda has experienced a substantial reduction in the prevalence of stunting from 45% in 2000 to 29% in 2016, undernutrition in all its forms continues to be a development challenge especially in districts of Kabale, Nwoya, Maracha and Bugweri with the highest prevalence rates of stunting in Uganda ranging between 22.9% to 40.6%,” she says.
Owomugasho cites poor feeding and childcare practices, poverty and shortage of nutritious and diversified foods, inadequate adaptation to climate change risks, poor sanitation and hygiene practices, as well as limited access to safe water among others as the main causes of this.
Speaking at the launch, the Kabale RDC Mr Godfrey Nyakahuuma who represented Hon. David Bahati as the Guest of Honour welcomed the project and said it will go a long way in sensitising people about better feeding habits. He reminded the people that hunger does not necessarily mean starvation but also poor feeding and hence advised people to give children especially those below five years the right food such as vegetables for proper growth.
A similar project will be launched in Bugweri on November 30 and in Maracha and Nwoya districts on 6th and 7th December 2021 respectively. The Launch of the Right 2 Grow project in the four districts is a follow-up of the National Launch of the Right 2 Grow project that took place on September 30 at Fairway Hotel Kampala. The event, officiated by the Rt. Hon Prime Minister represented by Hon. Justine Kasule Lumumba, the Minister of General Duties was also attended by the Dutch Embassy Deputy Head of Mission, Members of Parliament, CSO partners and the media.
