With mindset change, Nyamagabe residents are poised to uproot stunting

Since 2018 Nyamagabe District authorities embarked on a rigorous campaign to eradicate child stunting, vulnerable households have learnt new ways to improve their nutrition. Thanks to a number of interventions that were deployed, the district has seen the reduction of stunting rate among children from an alarming 51.8 per cent in 2015 to 33.6 per cent in 2020. To put it into context, Nyamagabe was in 2015 far above the national average, which was 38 per cent. Households with limited income were taught how to save money and buy chicken to produce eggs. Others were taught how to prepare a balanced diet with the available means. “We used to sell all the eggs that our chickens laid and bought other foodstuffs. We did not understand that it was very important to feed the eggs to our children,” says Marie Jeanne Mukanoheri, a resident of Mbazi Sector. “Think of a family with four or five chicken and yet the kids rarely ate the eggs. But that has changed since the leaders taught us to feed the eggs to the kids first, then we can sell the rest.” Mukanoheri said her kids also drink milk at least once a week, thanks to a cow she was given by the government through the cattle-stocking programme, Girinka. Through small savings cooperatives, households with undernourished children bought chicken through an innovation called “the child’s egg,” where a parent has to make sure children under five years takes at least two eggs per week. Parrainage (or sponsorship) is another innovative solution, where leaders and private sector players became guardians of households with undernourished children and walk the journey with them until they are completely better. “Both leaders and parents contributed to the efforts,” said Jeanne Uwizeye, the head of Ngara Health Centre in Mbazi Sector. “We made sure that the parents understand the benefits of a well prepared balanced diet containing proteins.” These efforts to improve household nutrition are complemented by Shisha Kibondo porridge flour, offered for free to vulnerable pregnant mothers and young kids, through a World Bank-funded project to eradicate stunting in 13 districts across the country. Nyamagabe District officials say the innovations have enabled them to reduce the child stunting rate by nearly a third -- one of the country’s fastest impact by a district. It was also supported by the national programme of early childhood development (ECD) centres where children aged three to six are care for by the residents themselves. “We have regular screening for children’s nutrition status, where those found to malnourished are hospitalised,” said Agnes Uwamariya, the district vice mayor in charge of social affairs. The hospitalised children spend three to four weeks under treatment, after which their families are constantly encouraged to ensure they get a balanced diet with protein-rich foods, such as eggs and milk. In a bid to reach the government’s target of reducing child stunting to 19 percent in 2024, Uwamariya added that the district has also embarked on planting fruit trees and having a vegetable garden in each household.

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With mindset change, Nyamagabe residents are poised to uproot stunting