Gakenke in massive nutrition drive

Gakenke District will provide ‘one-chicken per child’ to poor families in additional efforts to fight malnutrition, the District Mayor, Deogratius Nzamwita said.He was, last week, speaking at a ceremony to close the national celebrations to mark the Rwanda Women and Girls’ Month, in which many activities aimed at empowering women were undertaken.The activities included promoting the health of women and their families; promoting of the girl-child education and promoting good governance and justice for women and children.There are 2,666 cases of malnutrition in the Northern Province, 613 in Gakenke alone, while a total of 16,000 families live in the same situation countrywide, according to the Ministry of Health.In the course of the month, Gakenke District with support from development partners distributed 290 cows and 2,000 chickens to vulnerable families as part of the campaign to fight malnutrition among children.Government launched the national campaign against malnutrition early this year with a six-month target to root out the problem.Nzamwita explained that the vulnerable families will also benefit from the one cow per family programme. “It’s about poverty reduction; we want to empower families by ensuring that they at least have a source of income, milk and eggs. Women should be at the forefront,” he said.The chief guest, Prime Minister Dr Pierre Damien Habumuremyi, called on families to work towards total elimination of malnutrition among children and asked the local authorities to set measures to eradicate malnutrition this year.“Sustainable development will be a result of women involvement in economic activities, we have to face the challenges that still stand in the way of total empowerment of women and girls, women should be supported to get out of poverty,” said the PM.He said all government institutions should promote girls’ education as a sustainable approach of empowering women. The Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion, organised the Women and Girls’ Month to involve all people from the grassroots, to create awareness and promote participation in activities geared towards empowering women and girls and also to fight malnutritionThe Minister, Aloisea Inyumba, urged women to tap into opportunities availed by government to develop themselves and their families.Hundreds of residents flocked Nemba stadium braving an afternoon heavy downpour, to mark the end of the one-month activities which involved a new venture known as Akagoroba k’Ababyeyi (women’s evening’), in which family conflicts were addressed.The community activities during the month involved collecting milk to give to young children and setting up kitchen vegetable gardens, as part of efforts to eradicate malnutrition; women entrepreneur competitions; and giving women a voice during meetings to address their family problems.

National

Gakenke in massive nutrition drive